LAHORE: Punjab Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif seems to have lost control of the situation sprouting in the province due to pressure from religious parties as three more Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) members of the Punjab Assembly have announced they will be resigning.
Several more, reportedly, are preparing to put pen to paper on their resignations, but Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanaullah is not one of them. He has reportedly refused – again – to agree to the request made by his immediate boss Shehbaz Sharif.
When asked about the resignation request, Sanaullah said that Nawaz was the only authority from whom he will take orders regarding his resignation. He added that he would resign immediately if ordered to do so by Nawaz.
Interestingly, even when the issue began brewing and the Punjab Government was attempting to defuse the situation, Sanaullah had refused to be presented as a sacrificial lamb and maintained that he would only act on an approach from Nawaz.
Sources in the ruling party said that the fiasco appears to be of the law minister’s own making. He added that while Sialvi’s demand was undoubtedly pointless as Sanaullah had clarified his statements multiple times, but he should have still gone to have a sit-down with Sialvi to address his concerns.
He said that Sanaullah’s boss, Shehbaz, had given his word to Sialvi that the latter’s concerns would be addressed, and Sanaullah should have honoured this commitment. He said that all the main religious groups in Punjab are joining hands against the PML-N, was a bad omen for the party.
According to another source, Sanaullah’s insubordination towards Shehbaz exposes the existence of two camps in the party. He said Sanaullah has toed the line of the Nawaz camp since the start of the Panama episode and even gave statements against state institutions despite Shehbaz’s public opposition to the policy of confrontation.
Provincial Government spokesperson Malik Muhammad Ahmad Khan said that the government was keeping a close watch on the situation and will formulate a party policy soon. Malik, however, refused to say who will devise party policy in Nawaz’s absence and why Sanaullah was refusing to accept Shehbaz’s authority.