Unconditional support: Jailed PML-N leaders may abstain from voting

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) is still reeling from shock over the leadership’s decision of unconditional support to the amendment to Army Act.

The party stalwarts in jail have conveyed that no decision on the issue will be considered final if done without consulting them and the most influential leader among them has even threatened not to vote. Shahid Khaqan Abbasi was conspicuous by his absence from National Assembly on Monday notwithstanding the fact his production order was issued together with Ahsan Iqbal and Khawaja Saad Rafique. Ahsan attended the session whereas Khawaja couldn’t make it in Monday’s sitting due to the late issuance of the order whereas he had to come from jail in Lahore. Shahid opted to skip instead. Ahsan who is also PML-N’s secretary general is said to have conveyed to the parliamentary leadership that there must be no decision without consulting the jailed leaders. He is likely to skip the proceedings in coming days to abstain from voting.

Shahid, on the other hand, is growing bitter with each passing day. As he went for appearance before the accountability court on Monday, he is said to have told party colleagues that he would oppose the bill in case he attends the assembly. “First of all, I will not go to the assembly. If I do, I will oppose the bill,” a party source quoted him. According to the insiders, Shahid has been upset since the day he came to know about the unconditional support to the bill extended by the leadership. In addition, he wondered whether there was any prize to take lead in making announcement of support to the bill and that too without consulting other parties. The biggest shock for him on late Friday was that the bill tabled in the assembly had already been seen by the top leadership in London a day ago.

He was further caught by surprise to hear that Mian Nawaz Sharif had given his word on it a month ago during a meeting held in London. As he protested being kept in the dark on such an important decision, Khawaja is said to have told him that since all the participants of London meeting were under oath not to divulge details, he couldn’t be taken into the loop. Shahid in a state of disbelief kept checking from other participants of that meeting. Several of them didn’t answer in order to protect the oath as they were sworn on the holy book.

As resentment grew within party and among supporters with all guns aiming at Khawaja, the parliamentary leader, who had conveyed the decision of unconditional support on the bill, he went on Geo TV to disclose that it was the decision of the top leadership. A couple of other leaders were scheduled for talk shows at 11:00pm that night but they had to abandon their plan in order to save the oath. Both of them had attended the London meeting. “Endorsing what Khawaja said at Geo TV means breaking oath (of not divulging the fact that it was Nawaz Sharif’s decision to support the bill) and contradicting his claims would mean starting a new controversy,” said one party leader.