ISLAMABAD -  Former interior minister Ch Nisar Friday threw his weight behind PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif’s decision to nominate Punjab CM Shehbaz Sharif as his party candidate for the premiership after next general elections.

Nisar, who otherwise is a strong critic of some of the ex-PM’s decisions especially his stance on Supreme Court after his disqualification in the Panama case, said: “The nomination of Shehbaz can prove positive if he is allowed to work according to his vision and his capabilities.”

Nawaz, the PML-N president told his aides on Wednesday that his younger brother would be the party candidate for premiership in the 2018 general election, clearing the confusion over the future party leadership.

Nisar during his informal talk with reporters reiterated his stance that his party should not go for confrontation with the judiciary.

He said that the PML-N, as a political and ruling party, was passing through a critical phase. “The decisions within the party should be made on logical not on emotional grounds.”

He shed light on the importance political consultative process before of making decisions at this crucial moment.

Nisar, who is also considered within the party as a close friend of Shehbaz, said that political parties were not run through tweets and tickers — a reference to the PTI.

The ex-minister said that he was against the policy of confrontation because he believed that they should focus on their political adversaries and refrain from being embroiled in unnecessary controversies. He said that no political worker could even think of becoming a part of anti-judiciary movement.

Nisar said the PML-N was not just a political but also a democratic party. He said it was a matter of satisfaction for him that the freedom of expression existed in the party, which, he continued, was not being offered by any other party.

“Perhaps this was the basis of my 33-year affiliation with the PML-N. But I still believe that the need for freedom of expression was never as great as it is today,” Nisar said.

Lashing out at the un-elected elements within political parties and especially within his own party, he said that decisions imposed by non-political elements within parties could never improve their stature. He said he did not even consider any person a politician who has not even contested the elections for a local council.

“Such non-political figures have the right to express their opinion and give advices but there is no room for them to foist their opinion upon the PML-N,” he said, adding that non-political elements who want to formulate a narrative that targets national institutions could never make any place among the masses.

Nisar said in view of the present circumstances and the coming election, it was important that the PML-N should formulate an effective and consensus-based narrative.

He added: “This narrative besides encompassing solutions for political, economic and national issues must reflect the performance of the party during past four and a half years. Only such a narrative can enable us win the support of the masses. The need for such a narrative has also become great in view of the international developments and direct and indirect pressures on the country.”