PML-N doesn’t call workers to welcome Shahbaz

LAHORE: The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) has decided against giving a formal public call to workers to receive party president Shahbaz Sharif on his return from London early Sunday morning (today), but the MNAs and MPAs of Lahore would receive him along with workers as they could easily manage to reach the airport. This was decided at a meeting of Lahore’s elected representatives held at the party office at Model Town on Saturday, chaired by Pervaiz Malik. The meeting deliberated on possibilities of giving a warm welcome to Shahbaz at the airport but decided against giving a public call to workers since the time of arrival of Shahbaz Sharif’s flight is earlier than dawn and it was deemed quite difficult for workers to gather at the airport.

“Our elected representatives will reach the airport to receive party president Shahbaz Sharif along with their workers,” said PML-N Punjab Information Secretary Azma Zahid Bukhari. She said it was decided that all MNAs and MPAs should bring as many workers as they could easily manage but not bother to push all the workers to reach there at such an odd time since it would be hard for them to do so.

She said the meeting expressed confidence in the leadership of Shahbaz Sharif and condemned government ministers for doing politics over Shahbaz’s health problems. They lamented that the PTI leadership had crossed all limits of decency while accusing him of running away from accountability under the cover of medical treatment.

Meanwhile, the PML-N leadership will wait for the decisions of the APC of the opposition parties to shape up its own strategy of countering government in the budget session. Azma said the meeting of the party’s elected representatives observed that much of the strategy was relying on the decisions of the combined opposition leadership in the upcoming APC in Islamabad next week. She said the meeting observed that the report of the Economic Survey was a charge sheet against the government and the ministers have been unable to cover up government blunders on the economic front. She said the party has already begun protests and a local PML-N body has staged a demonstration against the government’s economic failures outside the press club.

She said the meeting was of the view that the week coming after Eid is crucial for the party leadership since bail applications of many party leaders including Hamza Shahbaz would come up before the high court. Fearing their arrests, no final strategy could be decided since it would have to be changed urgently in case of any emergency. The meeting decided to devise the protest strategy on a day-to-day basis and wait for the broader guideline from the top leaderships at the APC, she added.

She said the meeting decided to step up party’s reorganization and the vacant posts would be filled up very soon to invigorate the party ranks and file.