LAHORE: Around 40 sitting and former members of the Punjab Assembly have resolved, that PML-N President Nawaz Sharif, should step aside and let Shehbaz Sharif lead the party against the backdrop of growing fear of the party president being taken down by the court, again, The News has learnt.
Forty members of PML-N gathered at Shaukat Lalika’s residence for strengthening Shehbaz SHarif’s role in the party in the absence of Nawaz Sharif. In view of suspected differences among the Sharifs, which is leading to anxiety in party leaders and legislators, this congregation discussed the pros and cons of the fallout. They were of the opinion that Shahbaz Sharif should be given reigns of the party by his brother in the existing scenario, where Nawaz’s status as President hangs in balance because of the possibility of the Supreme Court by nullifying the Election Bill 2017. The bill allowed Nawaz to stay as party president despite being convicted.
The bill is not a constitutional provision, but is an act of the parliament that the Supreme Court can undo. The participants of this meeting were of the view that Nawaz Sarif’s importance wouldn’t be undermined in such a scenario for the party stands one under his leadership and doling out of the office of party president to his brother would help consolidate the party ranks in his absence. The status of Nawaz Sharif in the party in whatever role is lifeblood of the PML-N, however, in the present situation, the reality on ground warrants an effective leadership which can have hands-on approach for steering the party out of the crisis.
This sudden move on the heels of Maryam Nawaz’s meeting with the little Sharif’s family, does not come as a surprise because the rumours of infighting were leading to chaos in the party. Without compromising Nawaz’s status, the participants of the moot stressed the need for ending the family infighting for it was suicidal for the entire party.
It is important to note that the majority of the participants belong to Southern Punjab who had won independently after having left the PML-Q. This development could be attributed to an earlier press conference by the PML-N MNA from Bahawalpur, Riaz Pirzada. This disgruntled MNA had voiced concern over his name appearing in a purported IB’s list which contained another 36 of colleagues from Southern Punjab.
The meeting is perhaps an attempt to pre-empt an probable desertion from the party. Talking to The News, senior PML-N minister Raja Ashfaq Sarwar said that, the senior members of the party should be a bridge between the brothers and the party
He said that he does not think that there is a major rift between the two brothers because there is no survival for either of them if they split up. “We want harmony in the party leadership and go into the next elections with our leadership intact. Whatever the situation is, the party need Nawaz’s umbrella at all cost because popular support belongs to Nawaz. And if Nawaz isn’t here, there should be harmony in the family and the party,” Ashfaq added.
The meeting was chaired by Provincial Minister Labour and Human Resource Raja Ashfaq Sarwar, was hosted by Shoukat Ali Laleka, PP-278 (Bahawalnagar-II) and attended by Ch Iftikhar Hussain Chhachhar, PP-188 (Okara-IV), Arif Mahmood Gill, PP-59 (Faisalabad-IX), Muhammad Afzal Gill, PP-274 (Bahawalpur-VIII), Ch. Abdul Razzaq Dhillon, PP-33 (Sarghoda-VI), Muhammad Asif Malik, PP-41 (Khushab-III), Malik Muhammad Waris Kallu, PP-42 (Khushab-IV), Ch. Muhammad Iqbal, PP-98 (Gujranwala-VIII), Syed Hussain Jahania Gardezi, PP-213 (Khanewal-II), Saira Iftikhar, W-331, Nadia Aziz, PP-34 (Sarghoda-VII), Ch Tahir Ahmad Sindhu, Advocate, PP-30 (Sarghoda-III), Amir Inayat Khan Shahani, PP-50 (Bhakkar-IV), Tariq Subhani, PP-125 (Sialkot-V), , Rana Muhammad Afzal, PP-128 (Sialkot-VIII), Muhammad Anis Qureshi, PP-176 (Kasur-II), Malik Ahmad Saeed Khan, PP-178 (Kasur-IV), Amir Hayat Hiraj, PP-216 (Khanewal-V), Ramesh Singh Arora, NM-368, , Muhammad Kazim Ali Pirzada, PP-273 (Bahawalpur-VII), Ch Zahid Akram, PP-282 (Bahawalnagar-VI, Muhammad Ejaz Shafi, PP-290 (Rahimyar Khan-VI), Ch. Mahmood ul Hassan, PP-294 (Rahimyar Khan-X) and , Farhana Afzal, W-315, , Alia Aftab, W-338. It may be mentioned that the meeting took place amid rumours that a senior party leader was trying to create a forward bloc.
