LAHORE – The PML-N apprehends that the PPP is working on a plan to divide its vote bank at a time when the party eyes at repeating the 1997 history in the next elections.
The PML-N counts the rant of PTI against it and raising of the issue of provinces without sincerity of purpose, as well as re-invoking the dead cases against the party leadership, for a premeditated move choreographed by the PPP to arrest the fast growth of the party vote banks in all the four provinces, especially in the Punjab and Sindh.
The party sources said that some federal ministers were also active to deny the PML-N a high profile role and to arrest its popularity and thwart its efforts to enlarge the platform of an Opposition that is able to show its strength to the government in the time to come.
All efforts are being made to keep the PML-N political role against the government within limit and to stop its movement from going too far against it. They said that besides calling up old and decided cases, the PPP was looking for others cheap means to malign the party, to block movement against the government.
Talking this scribe, PML-N Central Information Secretary Senator Mushahid Ullah Khan said the party realises that for what purpose an NGO-like party, PTI, has been pitted against the PML-N and why the government was fanning provincialism in the name of creating more province without any honesty of the purpose.
However, he said that the party was not afraid of such tactics and had devised strategy not only to counter but to boost up the vote bank all over the country. Mushahid was optimistic that the voters of the party were quite committed and huge gathering the public meetings in Sindh and other parts of the country speak volumes of the consistently growing popularity of the party which he added, had given the party rivals sleepless nights.
Talking to party men, Mushahid Ullah Khan said that the people have got together against the rulers who have totally failed to drive the pull the country out of the crises and had proved their inability to meet the challenges.
 He said the masses in order to get rid of the corrupt and inefficient rulers were coming under the banner of the PML-N, the only party which can pull them out of difficulties created by President Zardari and his cronies in the federal government. He said the people are united under the PML-N and every attempt to divide them would fail. He said the masses are putting their weight behind PML-N keeping in mind the best performance of this party given in the past.
overseas forum: PML-N President Nawaz Sharif has established a wing within the party with a view to bringing the overseas Pakistanis into party folds as well as to address their problems.
Besides apprising the overseas Pakistanis about the party programmes for the development of the country and betterment of the people, the establishment of PML-N Overseas Business & Professionals Forum carries the purpose of providing a platform to the overseas Pakistanis associated with business and other sectors not only to maintain a contact with the country of their origin but also play an active role to take it forward economically and politically by contributing their input.  The Forum would operate under the personal supervision and patronage of Nawaz Sharif and will act as a vibrant wing of the party that will give them a voice within the PML-N as well as identify their issues and develop policies to address them.  Javed Malik, the advisor to Nawaz Sharif on international affairs has been designated as the convener of the Forum.  The Forum would launch a series of initiatives aimed at creating opportunities for Pakistani businessmen and professionals living abroad to play an active role in the nation-building through their skills, expertise, investment and remittances.