ISLAMABAD - The huddle of select leaders of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz in London is likely to reconsider strategy to deal with issues confronting the party and the Sharif family on political and legal fronts.

Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and Punjab Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif had reached London while Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif, who flew to Jeddah on Sunday, was set to join them by Monday evening.

The party leadership was not confirming any formal meeting and its timing, and Nawaz Sharif himself – who returned to London Sunday midnight from Jeddah – did not give any answer to media questions about the expected party meeting and his return to Pakistan.

Party insiders however confirmed that important sessions would take place on Monday night or Tuesday, wherein some major decisions are likely to be taken which would shape up the future course of the party.

The meeting is most likely to mull options for reconciliation with the establishment as the hawkish elements in the party have already toned down their fire against the state institutions.

The ousted prime minister, who along with his other family members is facing taxing and perilous corruption cases back home, appeared humble in his yesterday’s media talk in London.

He did talk about the successes achieved during his tenure and criticised Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf but did not utter any word against the judiciary and the army – something he would fondly do after his disqualification by the Supreme Court in July this year.

Sources in the party confirmed to The Nation that majority of senior party leaders including Sharif’s hand-picked Prime Minister Abbasi were not in concurrence with the confrontational policy and hard-hitting criticism of some state institutions.

They said that doves would most likely prevail in the London huddle as the former premier seems dejected after his disappointing visit to Saudi Arabia where he failed to garner the support of some influential Saudi princes to bail him out.

The royal family of Saudi Arabia is known for its personal relations with both the civil and military leadership of Pakistan and in the past, it had played a role in saving the skin of some political leaders of the country from sitting governments in Islamabad – Nawaz being one of them.

The sources said that after the London huddle, Shahbaz Sharif would most likely be in the driving seat of the ruling PML-N and would try to steer it out of the prevailing crises.

According to the sources, in case of retreating from the confrontational course, the role of Maryam Nawaz would also be curtailed as some party leaders considered her provocative statements in her media interactions would add to the problems of the party.

The decision about Nawaz Sharif’s return before the next date of hearing in the NAB corruption references would also be taken in the same meeting.

Some party sources claimed that the ex-premier would return before November 3, most likely on Nov 2, and appear before the court to avoid issuance of his non-bailable arrest warrants, something that would not go well for him, his family and the party.

The party sources said that a few more federal cabinet members would fly to London the next day or so to join the consultative meetings while some others would be joining them on a video link.

A senior party leader, who did not want to be named, said that actually the main meeting would be between the two brothers on the way forward on political and legal fronts.

He said that both would try to narrow down the difference of opinion on handling the situation as Shahbaz Sharif was averse to the hostile policy and hard-hitting approach towards the judiciary and establishment by Nawaz Sharif, his daughter Maryam and the leaders with hawkish tendencies surrounding her. The younger Sharif wanted to pursue a conciliatory course to carve out a way forward.

Nawaz Sharif has been referring his ouster to some conspiracy, though without explicitly naming the ‘forces’ behind it. But everyone knows that he believed that the military establishment had used opposition parties and judiciary to de-seat him as prime minister.

On the legal front, the party would strictly follow the advice of the legal team which had already advised Sharif to appear before the trial court as after the separation of the cases of his sons—Hussain and Hassan Nawaz – the corruption references had already lost their legal strength.

Absconding the NAB court has both legal and political implications as the court may issue his non-bailable arrest warrants, as cautioned by the judge at the previous hearing. The party would face enormous damage in the political arena if Sharif is declared proclaimed offender like his sons.

At the last hearing, Accountability Court judge Mohammad Bashir issued bailable arrest warrants for the former PM, turning down his request of granting another 15-day exemption from personal appearance.

The court also summoned Chaudhry Rifat, who had given Rs5 million surety bond for Sharif, on next hearing to ensure the presence of the accused.

The court had further said that from November 3 onward, it would hear the cases against Sharifs on a daily basis.

The mounting pressure of opposition parties on the National Accountability Bureau for being lenient to Sharifs and harsh on PPP leaders facing corruption cases of similar nature, and the bureau’s recent rejuvenated actions, has also made the former premier extra cautious about his return plan.

 

 

London huddle to reconsider PML-N strategy