RECORDER REPORT

ISLAMABAD: The ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) on Monday ruled out possibility of early elections in the country and also decided that Shahbaz Sharif will be the party’s candidate for the premiership after next general elections if Nawaz Sharif’s disqualification remains intact.

This was decided in a meeting of senior party leaders chaired by former Prime Minister and PML-N President Nawaz Sharif here at Punjab House which was attended by party chairman Raja Zafar-ul-Haq, Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, Governor Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Iqbal Zafar Jhagra, Ahsan Iqbal, Zahid Hamid, Rana Tanvir, Khawaja Saad Rafiq, Abdul Qadir Baloch, Hamza Shahbaz, Pervaiz Rashid, Mushahidullah Khan, Anusha Rehman, Maryam Aurangzeb, Amir Muqam and others.

Interestingly, Maryam Nawaz, the daughter of Nawaz Sharif, who was present at Punjab House, did not attend the meeting of the party leaders.

In an informal chat with reporters after the meeting, Minister for Railways Khawaja Saad Rafiq said that it was a meeting of senior leaders in which the prevailing political situation of the country was discussed. Dispelling the impression of any rift in the party, he said the party is united under the leadership of Nawaz Sharif.

He said although it is premature to announce the party’s candidate for the premiership, Shahbaz Sharif would be the most suitable alternative candidate for the office of the Prime Minister if the issue of Nawaz Sharif’s disqualification does not resolve till the next general elections.

He said that Shahbaz Sharif had earlier remained the party’s president and is the second most senior leader in the party. However, he said that Nawaz Sharif would remain the party head.

He also urged all the political parties for cooperation, saying that another elected government is heading towards completion of its constitutional term. He said that during the recent deliberations among the parliamentary leaders of all the political parties, nine National Assembly seats from Punjab’s share were reduced and given to other provinces.

Interior Minister Ahsan Iqbal dismissed the impression of any NRO (national reconciliation ordinance) is in the making, saying that Pakistan is a democratic country and “it has only one NRO which is in the hands of the people.” “The 20 million people are defenders of the democratic system, but a few people are trying to create confusion,” he added. He said that the consultative meeting took stock of the overall political situation of the country as well as reviewed the preparations for the next general elections. He said that it is responsibility of the government to complete its five-year term, adding that the present assemblies would be dissolved upon completion of constitutional term on June 05, 2018.

He said that it was also responsibility of the present government to ensure successful completion of the population census across the country which was conducted after improvement in law and order. Referring to the reservations of PPP and MQM on the new population census, he urged the political parties to accept the preliminary results of the population census, adding that the general elections could be delayed if the parties did not evolve consensus on the legislations based on the new census.

He said that the meeting decided to hold consultations with the political parties and efforts would be made to address their reservations with regard to the population census. He also hoped cooperation of all political parties in this regard. Minister for Law Zahid Hamid said the parliamentary leaders during meetings with speaker National Assembly had suggested an amendment to the Constitution which was accordingly presented before the National Assembly after consensus. However, a few political parties backed off from their earlier position, which was “strange”, he said, adding the government is ready to renegotiate with opposition parties.