ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Inter-Provincial Coordination Riaz Hussain Pirzada on Monday reiterated his earlier statement that Punjab Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif should take over control of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) from ousted prime minister Nawaz Sharif.
“I advised Nawaz’s brother to take over the party and I stick to my earlier statement,” Pirzada said while talking to reporters in his chambers.
“I have not asked Indira Gandhi to take over the party; neither have I asked the 111 Brigade to take over,” Pirzada asserted, adding that he had only asked Shehbaz, Nawaz’s “obedient brother”, to take charge.
“If Shehbaz Sharif commands the 111 Brigade, I apologise for my statement,” he said.
The minister’s clarification came in the wake of reports that PML-N leaders have expressed displeasure over Pirzada’s remarks. Minister for Railways Khawaja Saad Rafique reportedly advised the minister not to issue such statements.
Speaking at the National Press Club in Islamabad on Thursday, Pirzada had said that Shehbaz should take over party affairs at least until the deposed PM clears himself from corruption charges.
He was responding to a question related to the fast unfolding difference of opinion, in the backdrop of the Panama Papers case, within the Sharif family in particular and the PML-N in general. The minister mentioned that in a meeting he had advised Sharif that “when the storm gets on someone, he should sit and wait to let it die down”.
Talking to reporters on Monday, Pirzada said that there is no double meaning or conspiracy behind his words.
Pirzada was of the view that despite reservations, he considered Nawaz Sharif his leader and that his statement was misinterpreted by the media.
“We don’t object to Nawaz’s leadership but we are concerned how the party will win the next elections,” he said, adding that there will be a vacuum in the party if Shehbaz was not made the president.
