Skip to main content

PML-N faces challenges in hosting grand event for Nawaz

LAHORE: A consultative meeting of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s (PML-N’s) youth coordinators for Lahore was chaired by Maryam Nawaz Sharif and Hamza Shehbaz on Sunday. The meeting is part of a series of activities that the PML-N is conducting these days to make preparations for giving a rousing welcome to former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif when he returns home on Oct 21. Mr Sharif had gone to London for medical treatment on Nov 19, 2019, after being released on bail from a seven-year jail term for corruption. Arranging a befitting reception, to be attended by at least one million people for the ex-prime minister, is a test case for PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif and Maryam’s skills for cadre mobilization and crowd-pulling in the face of issues like differences among party leaders and ambiguity on the return of the elder Sharif because of protective bail concerns. Currently, party leaders like Shehbaz Sharif, Ishaq Dar, Khwaja Asif, and Azam Nazir Tarar, etc, are in London discussing legal and political delicacies with Mr Sharif, while Maryam will join them after completing a round of meetings with local party chapters and wings. To mobilise the party cadre, Maryam has appointed focal persons and formed coordination committees at district levels. These bodies, comprising former MNAs, MPAs, ticket holders, and other notables, are directly answerable to her only and will stand dissolved soon after the reception is over. A minimum target of bringing supporters to the reception for each parliamentarian, ticket holder, and party office-bearer is being finalized. However, statements by party leaders, including Khwaja Asif, that Mr Sharif will return home only after securing protective bail so that he is not arrested at the airport, like in July 2018, are creating doubts about the homecoming plans. And this is dampening enthusiasm among the party workers and supporters. Maryam is also confronting a daunting task of settling the differences among party leaders in various chapters, which may also create hurdles in smooth arrangements for the reception. During her mobilization campaign in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, leaders like former central general secretary and KP governor Iqbal Zafar Jhagra, and ex-KP chief minister Mehtab Abbasi were not invited to the meeting by KP president Amir Muqam. In a bid to cover up the issue, Maryam said that Mr Sharif was in direct contact with these leaders. However, Mr Jhagra held an anti-Muqam convention at his home, attended by, among others, Mr Abbasi and Tariq Khan, the son of another former general secretary Saranjam Khan. Differing voices were also raised against Gilgit-Baltistan PML-N president Hafiz Hafeezur Rehman as his rivals say that he has been heading the chapter for two decades and he must vacate the position for new blood. Mr Rehman offered to voluntarily resign from the post but Maryam stopped him from doing so, saying a decision to change of guards at any office in the country will be taken only after the return of Mr Sharif. Similarly, former Azad Jammu and Kashmir prime minister Raja Farooq Haider has refused to accept Shah Ghulam Qadir as AJK president, saying he is only answerable to the PML-N patron-in-chief. In Punjab, many notables are annoyed with former parliamentarians for being ignored when the party was in power. Now they are not ready to lend their support to these ex-MNA and MPAs in assembling party activists for the reception and are bent upon taking out their separate rallies for the purpose. The PML-N chief organiser is also beset with the task of managing the media, which she thinks is still under the influence of pro-Imran Khan anchorpersons. Published in Dawn, September 18th, 2023
http://dlvr.it/SwFy4M

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

3 drug pushers, bootlegger held

Islamabad :Islamabad Industrial Area Police have arrested three drug pushers and a bootlegger besides recovery of narcotics and 120 liter liquor from them, a police spokesman said.According to details, a police team of Industrial Area police station arrested three drug pushers namely Kamran, Irfan and Shamoon Masih and recovered 320 gram heroin and 210 gram hashish from them,.Another police team arrested a bootlegger namely Ansar Javed and recovered 120 liter wine, bottles, stickers and brewing equipment from him. Cases have been registered against these nabbed persons and further investigation is underway from them.SP (Industrial Area) Zubair Ahmad Shaikh has said that Industrial Area zone police is doing its job efficiently and crackdown against criminals would be continued.Despite the sit in, he said Islamabad Police has been performing its duty quite efficiently and has successfully managed to maintain the daily life in the Capital.In this regard, Senior Police officers including S...

‘Aziz Bhatti Shaheed My Brother, My Hero’

Real heroes are heroes of every one. They are not controversial. Nations love them more than anything. Major Aziz Bhatti Shaheed is among those real-time heroes of 1965 War, who not only stood firm to face the enemy aggression but also repulsed it with his unprecedented courage. He gave his life while defending the frontiers of motherland but never let the enemy succeed in its nefarious designs. The proud nation awarded him with ‘Nishan-i-Haider’, the biggest gallantry award of the country. Now that more than 54 years have passed, since he embraced Shahadat, he continues to live in the hearts of each and every Pakistani. Aziz Bhatti is remembered with love and affection. Nation observes his Yaum-e-Shahadat on 12th of September in a befitting manner.This year was significant in a sense that his younger brother Sardar Ahmed Bhatti (95 years old now) presented this nation a book named ‘Aziz Bhatti Shaheed My Brother My Hero’. This book is classic and unique in a way that it unearths many ...

Pragmatic steps taken to implement Axle Load Control regime on NH&MP

Islamabad: Ministry of Communications has taken pragmatic steps to implement the Axle Load Control regime on Motorways & National Highways in the country. Sole objective of this move is to control travelling of overloaded vehicles which lead to fatal accidents besides damaging the national asset of road network of billions of rupees.Prior to implementation of axle load control regime, a technical committee was formed, consisting of officers from Ministry of Communications and National Highway Authority which remained in constant contacts with transport community, Members of the Chambers of Commerce and stakeholders hailing from all the provinces. This technical committee visited their offices and held detailed discussions in series of meetings and took them into confidence to facilitate implementation of Axle Load Control regime. The stakeholders assured of their full cooperation and subsequently, implementation of Axle Load Control was realized which is in progress.It is worth to ...