- Majority of leaders urge party chief not to resign from his post
- Plan-B shows Ahsan Iqbal can replace Nawaz as PM for time being
The Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N) stands divided over the resignation of Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif as two groups of the party have advised the premier on distinctive options.
The views came to the fore during the party’s meetings held on Tuesday at the Prime Minister’s House as majority of the party leaders urged Nawaz Sharif not to resign from his post being an elected prime minister. However, the party deliberated upon the situation emerging out of the JIT report at length and all legal, political and pragmatic options were discussed.
However, the prime minister decided not to jump any decision and rather told the meeting he would take a decision after making up his mind over the issue. He also directed his legal team to ponder upon the JIT report and develop a detailed para-wise rebuttal to expose the JIT report in the court.
A PML-N leader, who attended the meeting, told Pakistan Today that the party leadership agreed that the situation demands restraint by the party leadership. He said that the majority urged the prime minister to stick to his guns and not to even think of resigning. The party leaders said that the prime minister was the most popular leader whose party had bagged maximum votes in the recent elections.
They urged the party chief to expose the conspiracy being hatched against the democratic system. Another PML-N leader said that a group of the party leaders, who attended the meeting, called upon the prime minister to voluntarily tender resignation as the chief executive before the commencement of the Supreme Court proceedings next Monday to maintain a high moral ground and to save the democratic system.
The source said that the group urged the prime minister that the party should have a plan-B and if needed, the prime minister may tender resignation. Asked who could replace the prime minister, the source said that Ahsan Iqbal would be a unanimous candidate to replace the prime minister for the time being.
“Yes, Ahsan Iqbal would be a unanimous choice if the prime minister makes up his decision to step down. Ahsan has been informed about the plan-B and this is why he is in the forefront to defend the prime minister. He is making passionate speeches these days to defend the prime minister unlike other senior leaguers who are reluctant to do so. But the decision and timing to resign has to be made by the prime minister himself at an appropriate time,” the source said.
Asked to comment why the party would not opt for any other senior leader to replace the prime minister, the source said that since most of the ruling family members were already named in the Panama case, it was difficult to name anyone from the family. “Moreover, differences within the cabinet members are also a reason for choosing a successor for the prime minister. Since Ahsan Iqbal is not controversial and has a relatively clean image, he may be a choice for the top slot,” the source said.
Why Nisar, Shehbaz silent?
The source said a small group of the party, led by Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, Punjab Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Raja Zafarul Haq and others have advised the prime minister not to target the state institutions including the superior judiciary and the military establishment. He said that none of the said leaders had made a single statement over the JIT yet.
Moreover, Defence Minister Khwaja Muhammad Asif has also distanced him from proactive statements. The source said that Chaudhry Nisar had a one-on-one meeting with the prime minister and advised him to stop the campaign against judiciary as well as the military establishment. The minister advised the premier that all their efforts for reconciliation can go down the drain if these statements were continued, the source said.
He said that the minister briefly attended the meeting of the party leaders and left early. The source said that this was the very reason that the PML-N leaders went soft on military and judiciary in their interactions with media after the Tuesday evening meeting. However, a group of the party has been urging the prime minister to defy and adopt a strong posture against judiciary, JIT and the establishment as it would help mobilise the party’s workers.
