ISLAMABAD - Former prime minister Nawaz Sharif Monday held informal meeting with senior party leaders at the Punjab House where the issue of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf’s losing simple majority in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly also figured in the meeting but the PML-N Quaid strictly rejected the option of bringing no-trust move against PTI in the province.

Sources in the ruling PML-N informed The Nation that the party leadership would not support or even encourage any step which would hinder the smooth conduct of the upcoming general elections and transfer of power to the new government. Keeping in view this policy in mind there are no chances on the part of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz to support any move to bring down the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf government in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa since the party had lost simple majority after PTI Chairman Imran Khan’s announcement to expel some 20 MPAs on charges of selling their votes in the recently held Senate elections.

In all PTI including its coalition partners had a tally of 69 in the 124 members Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly whereas the ruling coalition needed 63 members in its fold to hold simple majority in the house. However when the party issued show-cause notices to some 20 lawmakers and virtually shunted them out of the party, the total strength of PTI and its coalition partners stood at 49, 14 short to maintain simple majority in the house.

The recent exchange of barbs between Jamaat-i-Islami Ameer Senator Sirajul Haq and KP Chief Minister Perviaz Khattak on the former’s statement about the Senate elections created cracks in the PTI-JI relations and in case the JI would withdraw its support to the PTI government in the province the party would be losing support of another seven lawmakers, further scaling down its strength in the 124(currently 123) house to 42.

Sources in the ruling PML-N said that Nawaz Sharif was in no mood to go for any move to dislodge the PTI-led coalition government in KP, as he (Nawaz) wanted smooth transition of the government to the next government after conduct of general elections, due in last week of July.

Sources said that during the meetings held both in London and here Monday at Punjab House it was the consensus view of the ruling party leadership to let the things move on smoothly and avoid any adventurism, which might cause any hurdle in the smooth conduct of the next general elections.

These sources said that Nawaz also wanted Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi to pick the caretaker prime minister in consultation with Leader of Opposition in the National Assembly Syed Khursheed Shah and even if he (PM) has to show some more flexibility in the matter as he does not want to see the matter pass on to the Election Commission of Pakistan like done in 2013 when the then Prime Minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf and the then Leader of Opposition Ch Nisar Ali Khan had failed to evolve consensus and finally the matter was passed on to ECP, which had picked the caretaker prime minister from the panel of candidates forwarded to it by the prime minister and the leader of opposition.

PML-N Senator Pervaiz Rashid in a media chat with a national daily had disclosed that PML-N Quaid Nawaz Sharif had directed Prime Minister Abbasi to pick the caretaker prime minister from the panel forwarded to him by Leader of Opposition Khursheed Shah and not propose any name from the government side, only to ensure that the matter would be settled between the politicians and it should not pass on to the Election Commission of Pakistan.