ISLAMABAD - Disqualified prime minister Nawaz Sharif, who was once again removed as party president by the apex court, has called meeting of senior party leaders on Thursday (today) at the Punjab House here, to devise strategy for way forward.

Soon after striking down of the law permitting a disqualified person to hold office of party president by the apex court, Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi held a meeting with cabinet colleagues at the Prime Minister’s House and discussed both political and legal fallout of the decision.

The party leaders once again reposed full confidence in the leadership of Nawaz Sharif.

They vowed to stand by him through thick and thin.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi also talked to former premier Nawaz Sharif on telephone and it was decided that party central leaders meeting should be called on Thursday in Islamabad where former premier Nawaz Sharif in consultation with the party leaders would devise the way forward, especially the crisis-like situation created for the upcoming Senate elections.

As per court orders the party tickets granted to the PML-N candidates for Senate elections stand void in the light of the apex court decision disqualifying Nawaz Sharif as party president ab initio (from the day of disqualification in Panama case by the apex court).

To deal with the upcoming Senate elections, input from legal and constitutional experts would be taken in the meeting to be held at the Punjab House Islamabad, a source in the party informed The Nation.

The source said that most likely the acting charge of party’s top position would be given to chairman of the party Senator Raja Zafarul Haq.

A legal expert said that as the party tickets awarded by Nawaz Sharif to Senate candidates in his capacity as party chief stand void, so the candidates need to be awarded fresh tickets by the new party head for taking part in these elections from the platform of the PML-N.

Some legal experts were of the view that the candidature of PML-N candidates would remain intact and the only thing they lose would be the umbrella of the PML-N and they could contest these elections as independent candidates.

Soon after the apex court verdict in the Elections Act 2017 case the Election Commission of Pakistan de-notified Nawaz Sharif as PML-N president and wrote letter to the acting secretary general of the party Ahsan Iqbal to complete the legal requirement to fill the vacant slot of the party president.

The decision of the apex court against Nawaz Sharif was largely disapproved by the party leadership and the spokesman of the party said that the verdict did not meet the basic ingredients of justice.

The spokesman further said that such decisions had no parallel in the political history of the country and it just reminded the dictatorial regimes of Ayub and Musharraf where failed attempts had been made to keep the popular leaders away from people.

He said that Nawaz Sharif was ruling the hearts of the people of Pakistan and became an icon of resistance, ideology and political philosophy and they would continue their struggle under his patronage for the supremacy of the law, sanctity of vote and establishment of true rule of law (Nizam-i-Adl).