The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) has no plans at present to relinquish the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) chairmanship, quit the National Assembly (NA) standing committees or prepare a grand plan to dislodge the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP)-led coalition government, well-placed sources close to the Sharifs told Pakistan Today on Wednesday. “The PML-N is in no hurry and unless it is 100 percent sure about careful calculations based on pragmatic observations to topple the government, it will not step down from the PAC chairmanship or abandon the standing committees and its membership,” sources said.
According to a PML-N senior leader, nevertheless political circlers were abuzz with rumours that a plan was brewing to get rid of the government in the centre with the resignation of NA Opposition Leader Nisar Ali Khan as PAC chairman, but the party leadership was not in a mood to stir up such a political tempest given the current circumstances. However, he said, if the situation looked conducive, the PML-N could sacrifice the PAC chairmanship and others and party chief Nawaz Sharif might finalise a “government-demolition plan”. Whatever was decided, though no decision was in the pipelines so far, would be within the frame of the constitution, he said.
PML-N Information Secretary Mushahidullah Khan confirmed that the party had not decided in principle to give up the PAC chairmanship or the chairmanships and memberships of various standing committees. He also ruled out the formulation of a grand plan to overthrow the PPP-led government. About a no-confidence move, he said the party knew very well that it was short of the required number, so it would not put a no-confidence motion into play. However the day it bagged a majority, the situation could be different, he added.
“The PML-N believes that all such things are not result-oriented and will not pave way for a positive change,” Mushahidullah said, adding that if such steps were taken unwisely, the “third power” (army) could derail democracy once again. “We know the PPP is the worst and the most corrupt government, which has wreaked worse havoc in the country than dictatorship. The PPP has sickened democracy and brought it to its deathbed,” he said. He said the situation was very precarious and any wrong step would lead to a military takeover.
He said sometimes some events unfolded in a dramatic way, which changed the course of everything. “The 9/11 attacks changed the scenario once and for all, and if anything unusual takes place in the country, the PML-N may spring into action,” he said. Given an ideal situation, the PML-N would pull out of the provincial governments, sacrifice its government in Punjab, resign from the PAC chairmanship, standing committees and then may bring a no-confidence motion to dismantle the PPP-led coalition government, he said. PML-N Senator and Punjab government spokesman Pervaiz Rashid also dispelled the notion that the PML-N had finalised a decision to quit the PAC chairmanship and NA standing committees.
