Quelling rumors of the alliance between Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) being on shaky ground because of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), PML-Q leader Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi on Friday stated that Nawaz Sharif and his party would “get surprises in Sindh”. The PML-Q leaders had earlier met Chief Minister Sindh Syed Qaim Ali Shah.
In the post-meeting media briefing, Pervaiz Elahi reiterated that both the parties remained united in Sindh, adding that talks for the seat readjustments were underway. He further falsified claims that PML-N was going to Sindh and had, to some extent, broken down the local leadership.
Qaim Ali Shah, while answering queries on whether the alliance faced any danger in the form of PML-N or not, said, “We don’t overestimate ourselves, but we don’t underestimate ourselves either.” He added that the politics of his party and the leadership were the reason why Nawaz Sharif went to places in Sindh where one “need not go.”
“He has approached non-entity people and those who criticised him a lot, the nationalists, asking them to join him,” the CM said, adding that these people had never even won a single seat.
“He is trying but, thanks to God, he still does not have a seat even in the assembly, and none of our party members have joined him,” said the Sindh chief minister.
He said that Nawaz was approaching people “who had left his party earlier, who have cases registered against them and those who have always been disagreeing with us since the beginning, the likes of Mumtaz Bhutto.”
On PML-N making alliances with the nationalists, Shah said that Nawaz Sharif was recruiting the people some of whom totally disagreed with the constitution.
Refusing to comment on PPP’s cases in the courts, Shah said that it was a matter of the federal government and since these matters were sub-judice, they should not be commented on.
Shah said that talks with Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) were underway and progress had been made on issues that were not being sorted out earlier. “We hope to reach an understanding soon,” he said.
Answering questions related to local bodies elections, Qaim Ali Shah said that after general elections, scheduled to take place in seven to eight months, the elected governments would hold local body elections as per the constitution.
