- –Nawaz chides PM Abbasi for not advising Shehbaz, vows to remain steadfast despite successive defections, critique
- –Saad Rafique anguished over being called ‘establishment’s agent’
- –Some party leaders call former PM’s recent statements detrimental to party
ISLAMABAD
MIAN ABRAR
In the aftermath of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif’s comments on the 2008 Mumbai attacks, the ruling party Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) appears to have become stuck in a tight spot, with fissures among the leadership becoming severe and catching the public’s eye.
In a meeting of the party leadership on Thursday, Shehbaz Sharif lashed out at the person who arranged Nawaz Sharif’s interview with a local English daily, adding that he was no friend of Nawaz Sharif’s. Meanwhile, taking exception to his brother Shehbaz Sharif and Prime Minister of Pakistan Shahid Khaqan Abbasi’s statements regarding his interview, Nawaz Sharif chided them both and asked them to support his stance. He said that he would stick to his guns and stand by his stance he took in the said interview.
The PML-N is facing a difficult situation in the form of strong backlash unleashed in response to the hard-hitting statements made by the party’s supreme leader Mian Nawaz Sharif. Moreover, the party may have to deal with more desertions in the next few weeks, compounding the difficulties the party finds itself in now.
The meeting brought to fore the internal fissures and discord over the former PM’s recent statements with some leaders terming his stance as detrimental to the party. At one point during the meeting, the debate got so heated that Khawaja Saad Rafique stood up and left the room after some party leaders accused him of being a stooge of the establishment.
While party’s senior leader Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan has been avoiding party meetings since his clash with the party’s top leadership, Khawaja Saad Rafique has joined the angry leaders club after being blamed by Sharif’s close associate of being an ‘agent of the establishment’ and for playing a double role in the party.
Party insiders claim that the aggressive statements by the three-time prime minister Sharif have done more damage to the party than the military establishment or any other institutions as more and more party leaders are being offended due to these ‘self-flagellating’ statements.
However, Sharif and his daughter, the heir apparent to the party’s leadership, Maryam Nawaz, seem undeterred and unnerved.
The PML-N president expressed this in response to a question asked by a PML-N MNA, as to who arranged Nawaz Sharif’s recent interview which sparked a national controversy.
According to details, Shehbaz further said that despite being proud of Nawaz, he will advise him to give comments on sensitive issues after consultation.
Shehbaz also said that democracy is the only route to progress, adding that, the Indian PM Narendra Modi has set a record of atrocities in occupied Kashmir.
According to details, up to four PML-N MNAs from South Punjab were of the opinion that Nawaz’s recent statement on the Mumbai attacks and the government’s role in the Khatam-e-Nabuwwat amendment earlier damaged the reputation of the party.
Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi also attended the conference, along with some 120 other lawmakers belonging to the party. Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, however, did not attend the meeting, despite being present in the Parliament.
Lawmakers said that these recent statements will create problems for the party during the elections.
Shehbaz, while addressing the participants, said that the PML-N completed all its promises and ushered an era of development in its tenure. He added that the party will take their achievements to the electorate during the upcoming general elections.
PM Abbasi had chaired a similar meeting of the party lawmakers on Wednesday, in which, the PM had taken PML-N lawmakers into confidence over the developments after former prime minister Nawaz Sharif’s statement on the Mumbai attacks.
A party leader told Pakistan Today that during the party’s special sitting held on Thursday at Punjab House, Nawaz rejected the advice forwarded by Shehbaz Sharif, with some of the party leaders even believing that Shehbaz has failed as the party leader.
“Nawaz not only rejected the advice of his younger brother but also admonished Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi for supporting his [Shehbaz’s] cause instead of advising him. Nawaz plainly told PM Abbasi that he would seek his advice when and if needed but for the time being, PM Abbasi should mind his own business and rather than taking the side of the military establishment, he should implement orders given by him,” the source said.
The source added that Nawaz told the party leaders present that he would not compromise on principles and would remain steadfast in his quest for fixing the wrongs.
“The former premier said that he had said nothing wrong in his interview and whatever he said was a fact. For this truth, Nawaz said that he is ready to pay any political price but he would not step back. He also said that he would remain steadfast on his narrative and would carry it forward, which would prove to be successful in the forthcoming elections,” the PML-N lawmaker said.
Without naming anyone, the three-time premier told the meeting that he knew that some party leaders were under pressure from certain quarters while some party lawmakers were seeking justification for leaving the party.
Another party leader told Pakistan Today that the internal differences and mistrust within the party ranks came to the fore during the meeting when the party’s senior leader Rafique came under harsh criticism from Senator Asif Kirmani, who while speaking to Chaudhry Sher Ali, claimed that some party leaders like Rafique were hell-bent on damaging the party.
“Kirmani alleged that Rafique was reporting details of party meetings to some quarters and his character was shady,” the source said.
The source also said that this angered Rafique who lodged a strong protest and spoke to Nawaz too about the allegations levelled against him. Rafique asked that was thisthe result of the sacrifices he made during the past forty years that Nawaz’s personal servant was involved in his character assassination.
“Kirmani, however, clarified that he was not a servant of anyone and that he was a loyal worker of the party. He also made it clear that he was not answerable to Rafique,” the source added.
The source further said, “However, neither Sharif nor his younger brother uttered a single word. It was Khawaja Mohammad Asif who came to the rescue of Rafique and said that Kirmani’s attitude was unbecoming of a party loyalist and no one had the right to indulge in the character assassination of any senior party leader.”
The source added that following Asif’s weak support, Rafique left the party meeting but no one tried to stop him from leaving Punjab House. Rafique not only boycotted the party’s parliamentary party meeting on Thursday, he also did not appear in the National Assembly (NA).
Talking to media separately, Rafique and Kirmani said that there was no bad blood between them and no such incident took place between the two.