Lahore:

Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Leaders have severely rejected claims of corruption leveled against Punjab -Governor Sardar Saleem Haider and the party’s central Punjab -General Secretary Syed Hassan Murtaza.

The allegations made by a former media coordinator of the Governor House in a viral video message claim that both leaders accepted a hefty bribery in exchange for appointing the prosecutor as an advisory role.

A senior official close to the governor, who is familiar with the situation, rejected the claims as “a cock and bull story” who challenged the prosecutor Sardar Zulfiqar to present evidence.

The controversy broke out after a video appeared showing a handcuffed man who identified himself as Sardar Zulfiqar Ali, a former media coordinator of the Punjab Governor.

In the video, Zulfiqar claimed he had paid RS70 million to secure the advisory role, accused PPP General Hasan Murtaza, a man named Ajsam, and governor Haider for involvement in the alleged agreement.

Despite having paid bribery, he claimed he was later removed from the position. He also claimed that he was facing a politically motivated case and was taken to Camp Prison.

Zulfiqar also claimed he had disputed elections from NA-263 Quetta on a PML-N ticket and appealed to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, President Asif Ali Zardari, Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz and the judiciary to intervene.

He also claimed that a “Mian Salman”, whom he claimed, served as frontman for military generals, had used the name of the chief chief to scare him and was the complainant in the case against him.

Fact control

While Zulfiqar was actually appointed media coordinator for Punjab Governor on December 24, 2024, his claim for a competitive choice was on a PML-N ticket misleading. Registrations confirm that he ran as an independent candidate from NA-263 Quetta in the 2024 parliamentary elections and only secured 103 votes.

According to a senior PPP leader, Zulfiqar was introduced to the Governor House through mutual friends of Hasan Murtaza. He was appointed media coordinator with the hope of establishing better ties to business. However, he was later denoted after accusations of financial mismatch emerged against him.

“The battle is between Salman and Zulfiqar – it has nothing to do with Governor Punjab or Hasan Murtaza,” clarified a party officer and accused Zulfiqar of giving a “political color” to a personal financial disturbance E.

In response to questions about Zulfiqar’s background and why he was handed over the role, the party’s insider admitted, “This is where our leadership made a mistake. His background was never properly monitored before his appointment”.

Following the controversy, the governor has officially announced that his office has no coordinators and assured that no additional coordinators will be appointed in the future.

Several senior PPP figures have expressed frustration over the question and argued that the governor’s office should not be reduced to a “laughter”.

A leading party leader said, “It doesn’t matter if bribery was taken or not. What matters is the great negligence of appointing a questionable individual”. Another senior party member said this was not the first case of such claims within PPP circles, adding that several cases of a similar kind were discussed internally. He defended the governor and called him an “honorable man”, but raised doubts about some individuals within his close circle.

In the midst of growing mumbles within the party, sources suggest that the question is likely to be discussed during a April 24, iftar dinner is hosted in honor of PPP chairman Bilawal Bhuttozze-Zon in Governor House.

PPP leader Hasan Murtaza, who spoke with the Express Pakinomist, rubbed the allegations of Sardar Zulfiqar that how can spruce laid against Zulfiqar before becoming the coordinator, who also for a short stint has something to do with him or the governor. He challenged Zulfiqar to produce every strip of evidence to support his junk claim of bribery. He said his accusations of giving seventy millions to him and others were ridiculous. When asked that how many people in the party claimed to his and the governor’s integrity, they question the control process that was performed before choosing the said person for this portfolio, he admitted that they had made mistakes of choosing Sardar Zulfiqar. He said he was presented as remarkable to the trader society of his acquaintance.