LAHORE   -   The PML-N is all set to re-elect Mian Nawaz Sharif as the party president after almost seven years as the party’s general council is meeting here today (Tuesday) to exercise its right to elect a new party head according to the party’s constitution.

The timing of Tuesday’s PML-N gathering coincides with Youm-e-Takbeer, the day Pakistan did its first nuclear explosion and joined the nuclear club on May 28, 1998.

Chief Election Commissioner of Pakistan Muslim League (N), Rana Sanaullah Monday announced that any party leader intending to run for the presidency should submit his/ her nomination papers by tomorrow morning.

“We are here to receive the nomination papers”, he said while addressing a press conference at the party’s central secretariat in Model Town here.

 Promising a fair and transparent election, the PML-N’s chief election commissioner stated that following Shehbaz Sharif’s resignation, a new party president has to be elected. Any honorable member can submit his nomination papers for the presidency, and he was there to receive them at the party secretariat, he added.

Asked if Shahid Khaqan Abbasi would also be allowed to file nomination papers, the chief election commissioner replied in the affirmative but hurried to add that he would check his eligibility to contest the election.

Rana claimed that after the Quaid-e-Azam, Nawaz Sharif made the PML-N the most popular and public-oriented party. Responding to a question, Rana Sanaullah said that that Nawaz Sharif was not upset with anyone and remained fully active and engaged.

“Whether it is the federal or Punjab government, no fundamental decision is made without Nawaz Sharif’s consent and consultation”, he remarked, adding that the temporary pause in Nawaz Sharif’s political statements will gradually be over.  

Commenting on the PTI founder’s tweet,   Rana Sana prayed for the PTI founder, wishing that God saves him from the fate of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. He noted that dialogue cannot be refused, but the PTI founder has not been willing to talk to anyone for the past 13 years.

The PML-N leader acknowledged that Shehbaz Sharif was the most important leader in the party after Nawaz Sharif, but he was currently focused on pulling the country out of its economic crisis, which was a more critical task. In response to a question, he remarked that nowadays, even well-known property tycoons and even transgender individuals in the country were turning into revolutionaries.