Mushahid, Kirmani leave PMLN

LAHORE: Two former senators and senior leaders of PMLN have left the party after they were refused party tickets for the next Senate elections, The News has learnt.

A senior party leader on condition of anonymity said former senators Mushahid Hussain Sayed and Dr Asif Kirmani have left the party. The party leader said the tenure of both the senators have ended and the party has not considered their names for the next period.

Sources within the PMLN said that recently Dr Asif Kirmani, who was also the political secretary of Mian Nawaz Sharif, tweeted his concerns over the nomination of Shehbaz Sharif as the PM nominee from the PMLN.

“Nawaz Sharif made a brave decision to refuse premiership in a coalition government but those who voted for ‘Pakistan Ko Nawaz Do’ are disappointed,” he said. He further said, “All roads lead to power politics! Middle class is rapidly vanishing. Educated jobless middle-class youth have revolted against this unjust system in the general elections 2024. Political parties must change their strategy in order to gain support of the middle class and the poor.”

Party sources said both the former senators were very vocal against the party policies on private channels and this was also one of the main reasons for not considering them. The sources said Dr Kirmani was also not considered because of his age.

The scribe tried to contact Ahsan Iqbal, PMLN Secretary General, Marriyum Aurangzeb, PMLN Secretary Information, and Atta Tarar, Minister for Information, on telephone and also sent questions related to this story but none of them replied. The scribe also tried to contact Dr Asif Kirmani and Mushahid Hussain Sayed but their phones were switched off.