Nawaz hesitant to publicly nominate Shehbaz as party’s PM candidate: report

LAHORE: Former premier Nawaz Sharif is said to be reluctant to publicly nominate his younger brother Punjab Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif for the office of prime minister in 2018 general elections as he wants to keep his cards close to his chest till the last minute, reported a leading English daily.

Earlier, some TV channels flashed the news that Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President Nawaz Sharif had named Shehbaz Sharif as the party’s nominee for the office of prime minister in 2018 general elections.

While Shehbaz Sharif’s camp in the PML-N has been running a vigorous campaign to see their leader nominated by Nawaz Sharif for the PM slot, Nawaz’s loyalists argue that the issue is premature to discuss as the party would go into the 2018 general elections under his leadership.

The PML-N leaders were of the view that the decision in this regard will be made in central executive committee (CEC) meeting. However, the party chief’s opinion will prevail in this and other matters.