LAHORE - PML-N President Mian Shehbaz Sharif Thursday skipped yet another important party meeting held in Lahore to discuss organisational matters of the party’s Bahawalpur chapter.
The PML-N Quaid Mian Nawaz Sharif presided over the meeting from London through video link. It was attended among others by party’s Vice-President Maryam Nawaz Sharif, Secretary General Ahsan Iqbal, Khurram Dastgir, Parvez Rashid, Saood Majeed, Punjab President Rana Sana Ullah, Secretary General Awais Leghari, Punjab spokesperson Azma Zahid Bokhari, Nuzhat Sadiq, MNAs and MPAs.
On Wednesday, Shehbaz Sharif had not attend a party meeting presided over by Mian Nawaz Sharif giving rise to speculations about a serious difference of opinion between the two brothers. He was conspicuous by his absence in Thursday’s meeting also. When contacted, Mian Shehbaz Sharif’s spokesperson Malik Ahmad Khan said that Mian Shehbaz Sharif was not scheduled to attend these party meetings as he had other engagements. “In fact, a series of meetings are going on these days and Mian Shehbaz Sharif is having a very hectic schedule. He cannot attend each and every meeting”, he said, adding that there was no rift in the party as was being projected in the media. “In the coming days, you may see Shehbaz Sharif chairing such meetings”, he said. Also, addressing the party meeting at the party’s central secretariat in Model Town here on Thursday, the PML-N’s Vice-President Maryam Nawaz Sharif said that PML N was a democratic party and there could be a difference of opinion in the party ranks. “But when it comes to leadership, there is consensus on the two names-Mian Nawaz Sharif and Mian Shehbaz Sharif”, she said. Maryam also asked workers not to pay any heed to rumors of rift within the party.
Maryam asks workers not to pay any heed to rumours of rift within party
“We have been hearing such rumors for the last 30 years, but the party is intact”, she remarked. It may be mentioned here that it is now an open secret that a section of opinion in the PML-N led by Mian Shehbaz Sharif is in favour of making reconciliation with the Establishment to remain relevant in politics. This group believes that it is not a rational approach to challenge the established order as the same could land it in political bewilderment for good.
The other group led by Mian Nawaz Sharif and her daughter Maryam Nawaz consists of reactionaries who are not ready to compromise on principles while dealing with the Establishment. They call themselves constitutionalists and are not ready to accept the Establishments’ role in politics. This difference in approach towards political matters has caused confusion among the ranks and files of the PML-N. Of late, a rebuttal of Shehbaz Sharif’s statement issued by party spokesperson Maryam Aurangzeb has further strengthened the view that the party is struggling hard to reconcile between the two different narratives. Shehbaz Sharif had supported the idea of a national government to address the country’s multiple issues as against the party line that only the PML-N can steer the country out of the present crisis. Shehbaz Sharif later appointed Mohammad Ahmad Khan as his spokesperson after Maryam’s statement.
