After disqualified prime minister Nawaz Sharif, the visit of Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif to London, has delayed the election of PML-N president.
The PML-N had convened the general council meeting of its party on September 7 to elect party president after the disqualification of Nawaz Sharif by the Supreme Court of Pakistan. Now the new date will be fixed after the arrival of Nawaz Sharif and Shehbaz Sharif from London.
Last week, Senator Sardar Yaqoob Khan Nasir was appointed as the party’s interim president following an order from the Election Commission of Pakistan to PML-N to elect a new leader by August 25. The ECP notification had stated that election laws do not allow a person who does not qualify to become a member of the parliament to serve as an office-bearer of a political entity.
Had the party failed to comply with ECP’s order, Begum Kulsoom Nawaz, the former prime minister’s wife, would not have been able to contest the upcoming NA-120 by polls. Nasir was appointed to hold the post until the party decided upon a permanent replacement. PML-N leaders have suggested the appointment of Shehbaz as party leader in recent days.
Shahbaz had previously also been touted as the next prime minister, while incumbent PM Shahid Khaqan Abbasi was to serve as a stopgap arrangement till the Punjab CM could be elected to the National Assembly. The plan changed, however, after some party leaders opposed the “unnecessary” disturbance in the existing political setting.
