ISLAMABAD - Ruling Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) is giving a serious thought to accepting the joint opposition-framed terms of reference (ToRs) to make the Nov 2 lockdown call of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf irrelevant.

Parliamentary sources informed The Nation that main opposition party Pakistan People’s Party(PPP) leadership advised the ruling party to accept the ToRs framed by joint opposition to avert some mishap to the system on Nov 2 as things could go anyway in case of clash or some sabotage in the PTI rally by militants out to destabilise Pakistan.

These sources said that prime minister through some mutual friend had approached the PPP leadership seeking their help but PPP attached conditions for such a support to the system and demanded of the government to accept the ToRs framed by the opposition for Panama leaks probe and also facilitate the passage of Panama Papers probe bill pending with the Senate Standing Committee on Law and Justice.

Leader of Opposition Syed Khursheed Shah had also announced that they would only stand by the government in case the PML-N leadership would accept the four demands put forth by Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari for the resolution of the standoff between the government and opposition on Panama leaks probe.

Sources in the ruling party informed that in next few days the ruling PML-N would finalise its strategy to handle the situation, especially the unflinching stand of PTI Chairman Imran Khan to continue with his protest plan.

Sources further said that though the main thrust of the ruling PML-N would be to resolve the issue through negotiations but the option of use of force to frustrate the PTI workers would also be in place and the government would use state machinery to hamper the movement of PTI activists from amassing in Federal Capital.

About the other options with government it was decided not to contest the maintainability of the petitions filed with the apex court and would go for contesting it with full force to prove the implication of the prime minister in Panama leaks as false and fabricated.

The prime minister, soon after the SC notices to all the respondents on the petitions filed by the opposition parties seeking probe against the prime minister, his family members and some key personalities whose names appeared in the Panama leaks, had welcomed it and announced to join the court proceedings.

Later, after discussions with the party legal aides, it was decided that the government would follow the due course of law and would in no way hinder the apex court proceedings.

The legal and political observers were according great significance to the apex court decision to fix the preliminary hearing on maintainability of the petitions on the Panama leaks on Nov 1, a day before the PTI lockdown call.

Commenting on the development, these observers said that after the apex court’s move to take up the opposition parties’ petitions seeking action against the prime minister and his family members for their alleged involvement in financial irregularities, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf had partially lost the justification to hold its protest and if the apex court formally admits these petitions for hearing on November 1, PTI would lose moral ground to continue with its plan of the federal capital’s lockdown.

The ruling PML-N leaders had already started propagating this point of view on media and criticising the PTI leadership for their stubborn attitude aimed at harming the incumbent political dispensation to the advantage of certain ‘forces’.

On the other hand, the prime minister, at a meeting with senior party leaders, has decided to contact the leadership of all the opposition parties as well as those in the government’s coalition to build pressure on PTI to stop it from locking down the capital as after the apex court’s taking up the matter they have no justification for the protest.

Sources in the party disclosed that the party leaders, including Information Minister Pervaiz Rashid, Railways Minister Khawaja Saad Rafique, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal, Dr Asif Kirmani, Law Minister Zahid Hamid and few others would be approaching the leaders of other political parties to apprise them of the government’s point of view.