PML-N ready for talks with 'minus May 9 PTI leadership': Sanaullah

In a major development, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) senior leader Rana Sanaullah on Thursday said that his party was ready to hold talks with those PTI leaders not involved in the May 9 riots for the country’s economic recovery.  

The PML-N leader made the remarks during an interaction with journalists in Lahore as the general elections are getting closer in the country.

The May 9 riots were triggered almost across the country after the deposed prime minister Imran Khan’s arrest in the £190 million settlement case. Hundreds of PTI workers and senior leaders were put behind bars for their involvement in violence and attacks on military installations.

During the protests, the miscreants targeted the civil and military installations including — Jinnah House and the General Headquarters (GHQ) in Rawalpindi. The military termed May 9 "Black Day" and decided to try the protesters under the Army Act.

In a rare move, the PTI has also announced the formation of a "political engagement committee" for reaching out to rival parties ahead of the upcoming polls.

The five-member committee includes Senator Ali Zafar, Senator Dr Humayun Mohmand, Ali Muhammad Khan, Ali Asghar Khan and Raoof Hasan, read the party notification shared on its official X account, formerly known as Twitter.

'People will decide next PM'

Talking to journalists, Sanaullah said Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Co-chairperson Asif Ali Zardari has the right to block the path of “Lahore’s prime minister” and pave the way for a premier from Larkana.

The PML-N leader said that the people would decide the next prime minister and hoped that their decision would be acceptable to all of them.

His remarks came as the scathing verbal showdown between the PPP and PML-N — two former allies in the previous Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) led coalition government — intensified since the Election Commission of Pakistan had announced to hold elections in the country on February 8, 2024.

The romance between the two former allies ended after the PDM-led coalition government completed its term in August and both the PPP and PML-N locked horns over election-related issues.

In September, PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari laid the blame for being denied a level-playing field on the PML-N. Without naming it, he took a subtle jibe at the PML-N, by saying that it is "really a weird” thing that a certain party knew the election date.

On November 6, Zardari hoped his son Bilawal would be victorious with the rise of February 8's sun next year when general elections will take place in the country.

Bilawal expressed hope that the country's next prime minister will not be from "Lahore" — the stronghold of PML-N.

Taking a jibe at PML-N supremo Nawaz who returned to the country on October 21 after ending a four-year self-imposed exile in London, Zardari on Tuesday said that he was not leaving the country as he was bound by his workers.

“What will I say to my worker when I look him in the eye,” Zardari further said. He added that his party does its own politics whatever may be the politics of others.

On the other hand, in order to give the PPP a tough time in Sindh, the PML-N and MQM-P decided to contest the upcoming general elections together.

Talking to the media, the PML-N leader said that there was no legal hurdle for Nawaz to contest the upcoming general or by-elections.

Responding to a question, the former security czar said that the PML-N supremo will hold meetings with the leadership of different political parties, including PML-Q President Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain soon. He maintained that Shehbaz Sharif will remain the party’s president.