PML-N hesitant to accept ‘conditions’ for in-house change

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PMLN) is hesitant to accept conditions for an in-house change involving the name of next premier and duration of the interim set-up, sources told The News here on Sunday.

Sources in the PML-N confided to this correspondent that Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and some other 'forces' have been continuously urging former prime minister Nawaz Sharif to show some flexibility over the name of the next prime minister and duration of the interim set-up.

"Nawaz Sharif is not approving the name from his own party and he is also not showing support to names from any other party. He is also of the view that next annual fiscal budget should be presented by the government that would come to power through fresh general elections," sources said.

Sources said former prime minister Nawaz Sharif has still not entertained the proposal to select the name of either PMLN president Shehbaz Sharif or senior party member Khawaja Asif as prime minister for the interim set-up.

They said the PPP, at the first instance, also offered Nawaz Sharif to select a name from his own party and later it presented two names, both from the Sindh province, for the slot of prime minister but the PMLN supremo did not accept any of these names. Sources said that the PMLN and Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) think that PPP is acting like a B-team of 'powerful quarters' and taking lead from them with the aim to become the main beneficiary of the in-house change.

A senior member of PML-N claimed that "A single nod of Nawaz Sharif can tear the very fabric of this government to pieces. But he is not ready to make any kind of compromise over his principled stance."

On the other hand, a senior member of PPP, who requested anonymity, told this correspondent that “PML-N wants all opposition parties to set the stage for its comeback to power corridors. Like other opposition parties, the PPP wants to get rid of the Imran-led government but at the same time it is also setting sights on its own rise in the political field.”

When contacted, JUI-F leader Hafiz Hamdullah told The News, "The opposition parties should take political decisions on their own and they should not get lead from other powers that should have nothing to do with politics.”

PPP leader Qamar Zaman Kaira told this correspondent that "PPP never believed in deals due to which its leadership had suffered a lot and faced political victimization. We stand by our principles and are doing politics to protect interests of the people." "We have a practical plan and formula for in-house change both at the Centre and the Punjab province. The PML-N should give a serious thought to our offer and come forward to throw the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf out of the power corridors,” he said.

To a question, he admitted that the PPP wants to give some time to interim set-up and hoped the opposition parties would develop a consensus over this issue. Talking to The News, former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi said, "There are no contacts between Nawaz Sharif and the establishment and all rumors in this respect are baseless and incorrect. We believe in the power of electorates and they will elect us in next general elections."

To a question, he said, "It is not important to know whether the opposition parties are secretly holding talks over the name of prime minister for the interim set-up. The interim set-up will be for two weeks or maximum four weeks, so it is not important who will become the prime minister.”

Replying to another question, he said, "We are not ready to focus only on in-house change. There are many other basic issues that must be resolved. So I think nothing is final at the moment and we should not be blamed for it."