To bring in-house change: PML-N formulating recommendations for PDM meeting

ISLAMABAD: Guided by its Supremo Muhammad Nawaz Sharif, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) is busy formulating a set of recommendations for in-house change and other issues to be presented in the meeting of the steering committee of Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM).

Sources told The News Saturday in a bid to prepare recommendations, former prime minister Nawaz Sharif is providing guidelines to senior party leaders, including PML-N president Shehbaz Sharif, former premier Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, former interior minister Ahsan Iqbal, former National Assembly speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq and former provincial minister Rana Sanaullah .

“The recommendations will cover various issues such as no-confidence motions against Speaker National Assembly Asad Qaiser, Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani, Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar and Prime Minister Imran Khan. Besides, the future of provincial governments of KP and Balochistan will also be focused,” sources said.

Sources said the PMLN also wants dissolution of the KP and Balochistan governments and it is going to present a ‘practical’ plan in this respect. “The contacts between London and Karachi are now intact and high-profile personalities of both PMLN and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) are setting sights on their ultimate target,” the sources privy to the development revealed.

They said that Shehbaz Sharif and Maulana Fazlur Rehman had decided Wednesday night that they would hold meeting at 3pm the following day, adding, “The meeting was scheduled on emergent basis after an important communication between two top political leaders.”

Sources also claimed that more than dozen members of the ruling party in the KP Assembly had made contacts with JUI-F and PMLN to discuss their political future in fast changing political scenario.

Talking to The News, former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi categorically stated, “PMLN will not support no-confidence motion either in Punjab Assembly or National Assembly unless it is 100 percent sure about its success.”

To a question, he admitted that PMLN was in contact with PPP and even coalition partners of the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) because it wanted a broad based consensus against the government.

He asserted, “We are preparing our recommendations that will be presented in the steering committee of PDM. Other component parties will also present their recommendations then we will form a joint agenda for upcoming PDM meeting.”

Replying to another question, he said “If we go for no-confidence motion in Punjab and Centre, we will also have a plan for KP and Balochistan assemblies.

We want dissolution of national and all provincial assemblies but there are many issues that require concerted efforts on the part of all opposition parties.” Answering a question about sequence of events, he said “PML-N intend to move no-confidence motion first against Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani because we want to believe that ‘powerful quarters’ are staying neutral and they will not interfere in the political field.”

When contacted, PPP leader Qamar Zaman Kaira told The News that “We have a plan to bring in-house change at the federal and Punjab level.These things are not discussed publicly but when the opposition parties will sit together we will share the details of this plan.” To a question, he said “All opposition parties want to get rid of the government so I think they will finally join hands and make concerted efforts to push it towards its logical end.”