Alluding to the outlawed group’s peace overtures before the election, Nawaz said the Taliban invitation for dialogue should be taken seriously.

Speaking about the strategy evolved by his party vis-a-vis the Taliban, Nawaz said, “The bullet is not a solution”.

“We want to use each and every option; every issue has to be brought on the [negotiating] table for a solution.”

Pakistan, according to Nawaz, has no other option apart from engaging the Taliban in talks.

The PML-N leader made these remarks at Alhamra Hall while addressing newly elected MPs from among his party, including independent candidates who have thrown their weight behind the PML-N and given it a simple majority in the lower house.

Apart from the Taliban threat, Nawaz also spoke about the country’s economic situation and indicated the steps his government intended to take to spur its early revival.

Six MPs elected from the Federally Administered Tribal Areas Nazir Khan Wazir, Bilalur Rehman, Shah G Gul, Dr G G Jamal, Sajid Turi, Bismillah Haji have joined the PML-N.

Nawaz also did some number crunching, counting the human and material cost of delaying the dialogue process with the Taliban. “We have lost around 40,000 lives, wasted billions of dollars and ruined our economy as a result,” said Nawaz. “Why can’t we start dialogue with the Taliban and make our country peaceful?”

On the economy

An atmosphere of peace will revive the economy and end the energy crisis, Nawaz said, adding that the nation will be able to observe a change within the first 100 days as the country gets on the “right track.”

He acknowledged that it was difficult to decide as to which economic problem should be addressed first: the return of loans worth Rs16,000 billion, an end to the circular debt or new development projects for the country. Making a decision was all the more challenging as the previous government led by the PPP had left the national kitty empty. He said that he was in close consultation with Senator Ishaq Dar on how the PML-N could solve the conundrum.

Dar has been asked to find a way out of a circular debt worth of Rs500 billion in order to give temporary relief to the public from load-shedding. There would be a one-time payment in this regard, he said. Through effective management, the PML-N leader said his party would try to rid the nation of the energy crisis.

Nawaz said he intended to reduce government expenditure by up to 30 per cent. “I do not want to set deadlines — but we will try to complete in months those tasks that take years.”

Provincial set-ups

In Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Nawaz said he could have played the role of a spoiler yet he chose to adhere to the constitution and allow the PTI to form its government.

In Sindh, he said that the centre would provide support to the PPP-MQM coalition and help it curb violence, improve law and order and revive the economy. However, he warned that he would not tolerate any killings in Karachi.

In Balochistan, Nawaz said his party was ready to form a coalition government. In this regard, the party has already approached some of its coalition parties in the province.

Commenting on the structure of the centre, Nawaz said that his party had won 124 National Assembly seats and thanks to the inclusion of many independent candidates the PML-N now enjoyed a simple majority.

He added that if any party had reservations in working with the PML-N, the winning party will address on its own the country’s challenges. He said his meeting with Imran Khan was to seek his support and share his views on forging a common agenda for the country.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 21^st, 2013.

Since May 12, a tent has been in place at Jati Umra, Raiwind, where senior and junior bureaucrats, independent candidates and other supplicants looking to get an audience with the next rulers of the Punjab and Pakistan begin gathering in the morning.

The scene is similar to that witnessed five years ago at the Defence residence of Shahbaz Sharif when he was planning for his term as chief minister. Some who have backing from within bureaucratic lobbies have been visiting the PML-N Central Secretariat at 180 H Model Town.

For civil servants, the Sharif brothers hold the key to various attractive jobs. Those most in demand include federal secretaries, heads of autonomous bodies, positions in various public sector enterprises, commercial counsellors or economic ministers in foreign embassies, chairman of the Capital Development Authority, establishment secretary, cabinet secretary, and posts in the Prime Minister’s Office.

Interviews with party officials and civil servants have revealed that various bureaucratic lobbies are at play seeking to get their allies in key positions. They include one group known in these circles as “the mutual praise group”, a coterie of officials skilled at singing each other’s praises. Prominent among them are Dr Tauqeer Shah and Fawad Hassan Fawad, District Management Group officers who have worked closely with Nawaz Sharif and Shahbaz Sharif.

Although Shah was ostensibly the principal secretary to Shahbaz in his previous stint as chief minister, he actually spent most of his time at Raiwind with Nawaz. Shah reputedly helped engineer the Unification Bloc in the previous Punjab Assembly and was heavily involved in the election campaign, conducting surveys in constituencies across the province and advising the PML-N chief on who to award tickets to. Fawad helped Shahbaz plan development works across the Punjab. Dozens of bureaucrats have approached Shah and Fawad asking them to support their cause before the Sharifs.

Another strong lobby is named after a prominent property tycoon in Rawalpindi. It includes some 15 bureaucrats and is led by Ikhlaq Ahmed Tarar. But this second lobby has been told for the time being that they will not be awarded any top posts just yet, said party sources.

The third notable lobby consists of senior civil servants who have experience of serving under the Sharifs earlier on in their political careers and who have direct access to the brothers, though this group is small in number.

Bureaucrats who have served in embassies as commercial counsellors or economic ministers comprise the “foreign aid” lobby, one with friends abroad. A prominent example is senior bureaucrat Suleman Ghani, who served as economic minister in Belgium for five years.

Finally, the “buttering up” lobby is a more general group of officials who have been praising the Sharifs and promising to help them turn Pakistan into Eden, according to party sources. In return for being given the jobs they desire, the bureaucrats had been promising their complete obedience.

Salman Shahbaz, son of Shahbaz Sharif, and a few bureaucrats have been conducting the interviews, with occasional input from Shahbaz Sharif himself. Some names have been pencilled in for important positions. They include Raja Sikandar Sultan, Sami Saeed, Javed Aslam, Asif Nadeem, Dr Ejaz Chaudhry, Nadeem Arif and Aslam Kamboh.

The PML-N has yet to finalise the man with the right qualification for the post of finance secretary. The names shortlisted for the position so far include those with master’s degrees in botany, chemistry and English. Meanwhile, at least one with a degree in economic development from Harvard has been turned away.

A senior PML-N official said that the behaviour of the civil servants showed that the system was broken. “The bureaucrats themselves are approaching us and offering their services. There is a paradigm shift, such that they are not expected to show loyalty to the state, but to personalities,” an official said.

He said that rather than rely on the bureaucracy, the PML-N government would seek the help of experts serving as advisers to tackle the problems of debt, power shortage, unemployment, inflation and security.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 20^th, 2013.

While the media office of Nawaz’s winning party, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, and the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) refrained from issuing a statement on the meeting, officials from both sides confirmed the meeting, terming it a positive step. They added that the meeting should be taken as a consensus on national issues by military and political forces.

Senior PML-N officials said the meeting was a regular congratulatory call, during which the chief of army staff met his incoming civilian boss. On the other hand, officials within military circles said the meeting between Nawaz and Gen Kayani was to send a message that the elected government and the military are on same page.

PML-N sources said the army chief’s visit to Lahore was a private one and that he arrived at Shahbaz’s Model Town residence in a private vehicle. The former Punjab chief minister had arranged lunch in his honour and invited Nawaz as well, they added.

The army chief stayed for over an hour with the Sharifs.

Shahbaz: the point man

Meanwhile, in another significant development, Shahbaz Sharif will be the focal person to deal with military-related issues.

PML-N’s top officials said Shahbaz Sharif had discussed all concerned issues with Gen Kayani, and during the meeting, briefed Nawaz on the issues of law and order, war on terror, important portfolios and so on.

In 1999, Nawaz’s father late Mian Muhammad Sharif often dealt with the army and is said to have played a vital role many times in the relation between former military chief Pervez Musharraf and the PML-N chief.

Compared to Nawaz, Shahbaz has had a relatively positive relationship towards the military, including the issue of Musharraf.

According to sources close to the Sharif family, Nawaz is eager to follow up on Musharraf’s trial in order to set a precedent of a general being tried under Article 6 of the Constitution. Shahbaz, on the other hand, wants to absolve Musharraf and let him flee abroad again.

Officials said the Musharraf case was also discussed in the meeting between the Sharif brothers and Kayani but in a ‘light mood’.

Analysts welcome meeting

Analysts perceive Nawaz’s meeting with Gen Kayani as a ‘bold initiative’ on the army chief’s part.

Defence and political analyst Imtiaz Gul, while talking to The Express Tribune, said, “The meeting should definitely be taken as a bold step on the part of COAS Kayani as he did the same back in 2008 when he himself went to congratulate then premier elect Yousaf Raza Gillani to assure him of the military’s support for democracy.”

Senator and information secretary of PML-N, Mushahidullah Khan, on the other hand, viewed the meeting as customary. He said there was nothing to speculate about since army chiefs always congratulate prime ministers as per tradition.

Hinting at the details of the discussion, Khan said that “the military leadership has been conveyed that the list of tribulations being faced by the nation is too long and people are expecting the PML-N to resolve all of them on an urgent basis.”

Lieutenant Gen (retd) Talat Masood said Pakistan is re-gaining its glory and the international community is taking these developments as a “positive sign for Pakistan”.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 19^th, 2013.

“Nawaz Sharif’s prudent policies have encouraged us to merge NPP with the PML-N,” the NPP chief told reporters following his meeting with the PML-N president at Raiwind. Speaking to the media, Shahbaz Sharif welcomed NPP’s merger with PML-N, saying it would have a positive impact on Pakistani politics.

With the merger, PML-N gains two more seats in Parliament – namely those of Dr Ibrahim Jatoi and Murtaza Jatoi – along with two more seats in the Sindh Assembly.

According to sources, PML-N approached NPP to discuss a merger after performing badly in Sindh in the May 11 elections. All PML-N heavyweights in Sindh, such as Liaquat Jatoi and Ghous Ali Shah, failed to win a seat, damaging the party’s already negligible position in the province.

Following the PPP’s success in Sindh, the PML-N senior leadership feared it would play the ‘Sindh card’ against Nawaz Sharif’s government in the Centre. To counter this, the PML-N leadership concluded it needed a strong opposition presence in the Sindh Assembly. The sources added that the PML-N leadership has asked Murtaza Jatoi to lead the party’s chapter in Sindh.

Meanwhile, According to a PML-N official, the Sherazi group, headed by Ejaz and Shafqat Sherazi, will also be joining the party along with an MNA and three MPAs in the coming days.

But these new partners come with strings attached. According to sources, they have demanded that 20% of the PML-N’s federal cabinet be comprised of Sindh lawmakers. PML-N has been considering introducing a 25-member cabinet this time around and will reserve five portfolios for legislators from Sindh, the sources maintained. They added one of these portfolios will be allotted to Murtaza Jatoi, another to the Sherazi group and one to the PML-F. Other demands include the provision of jobs and the development of several mega-projects in Sindh.

PML-N in a fix regarding Sindh governor

According to sources, the PML-N is in a fix regarding the appointment of Mumtaz Bhutto as the Sindh governor. They said that while the party considered him a strong enough leader to deal with the PPP-led provincial government, if the PPP choose to appoint an ethnic SIndhi chief minister, the PML-N would have to appoint a governor from the Urdu-speaking community.

Reportedly, Mumtaz Bhutto struck a deal with the PML-N leadership before merging his Sindh National Front with the party. According to details of the deal, the PML-N leadership owes Bhutto either the slot of the Sindh governor or the President of Pakistan.

The sons of late former president Farooq Leghari also joined PML-N on Friday, along with two independent MPAs. 

Published in The Express Tribune, May 18^th, 2013.

According to credible sources within the PML-N, Nawaz held a one-on-one meeting with Aziz – who is also the head of the party’s manifesto committee – at Raiwind on Thursday, asking him to take up the responsibility of the prime minister’s adviser on economy and foreign affairs. They added that the party’s senior leadership has been informed both of Aziz’s new assignment and Ishaq Dar’s appointment
as finance minister.

The next development regarding the PML-N government’s cabinet will be the designation of the federal minister for foreign affairs, the sources said, adding that Aziz will assist the PML-N chief in making a decision in this regard.

Khawaja Muhammad Asif is reportedly lobbying for the slot of foreign minister, citing his foreign qualifications, command of English and contacts both in Pakistan and overseas as his credentials for the office.

They said the PML-N chief is also contemplating the appointment of a minister of state for foreign affairs. Siddique Khan Kanju had been appointed to the slot by the party in its previous tenure.

But it’s not all smooth sailing as the party is in a bit of a fix when it comes to accommodating two stalwarts from the same district. They are Ahsan Iqbal, who is being pegged to head the Water and Power ministry and Zahid Hamid, who is thought to be the top pick for federal Law Minister. The problem is that both hail from Narowal district, and granting two ministries to people from the same district may lead to criticism from within and without the party.

PML-N invites JUI-F

After snubbing Maulana Fazlur Rehman’s attempts at blocking the PTI in Khyber-Pakhtunhwa,  the PML-N has offered a sop to the JUI-F by inviting it to join its government in the Centre and Balochistan.

Although the PML-N has secured 124 seats in the National Assembly, Shahbaz Sharif made a formal offer in this regard during a meeting with JUI-F chief Fazlur Rehman in Islamabad on Thursday. The JUI-F has only been able to win 10 seats in the National Assembly.

Talking to the media following the meeting, Shahbaz said “JUI-F has been invited to join the government in the Centre keeping in view the national interest.” “The challenges faced by the country needed to be addressed jointly,” he maintained, adding that countries are not just run by parties which win the elections, but through proper plans of action. He stressed that Nawaz Sharif wanted all political parties on board to tackle terrorism, corruption and the energy crisis.

According to sources privy to the discussions, during the meeting the JUI-F chief once again stressed that allowing Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf to form a government in K-P would be against both parties’ interests.

Shahbaz Sharif, however, countered Fazl’s apprehensions saying that denying the PTI’s mandate would give the nation a negative message and hurt both parties’ credibility. He, meanwhile, invited Fazl to become a coalition partner in Balochistan as well.

However, Fazl told reporters that no decision regarding the formation of a government in Balochistan had been reached between the parties.

“We have called a party meeting and will take the matter forward after taking everyone’s opinion… We will continue with our mutual cooperation,” he added.

New inductees

Four more independent MNAs joined PML-N after meeting Nawaz Sharif at Raiwind on Thursday. The inductees were Asghar Shah from Bahawalnagar, Dostain Domki from Sibi, Khalid Magsi from Jhal Magsi and Jam Kamal.

WITH ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY QAMAR ZAMAN

Published in The Express Tribune, May 17^th, 2013.

The Sharif brothers are dealing with various lobbies within the party to decide who gets which cabinet slot.

According to sources, the party has set a benchmark for various ministries: for the post of Speaker of the House, a seasoned politician with deep knowledge on how the business of the house is conducted would be considered; to oversee the energy crisis, the minister should be someone with an engineering background, while the next interior minister should have the experience of dealing with law enforcement agencies. Similarly, the party has made it mandatory for the next finance minister to be an accountant and/or an economist. It has also been decided that the information minister should have experience in the media, while approval from ‘certain quarters’ would be required for the foreign minister.

Matching the men to the ministries

Various lobbies, comprising senior party officials and Baloch nationalists, are pushing for Lt General (retd) Abdul Qadir Baloch to get the portfolio of interior ministry because of his experience as the Balochistan corps commander and Sindh DG Rangers.

The PML-N has also shortlisted Baloch’s name for the post of National Assembly speaker along with PkMAP’s Mehmood Khan Achakzai. However, Qadir is more interested in the interior ministry portfolio.

The party has shortlisted two names for the Water and Power Ministry – Ahsan Iqbal and Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, as both have an engineering background.

Sartaj Aziz is lobbying for the portfolio of foreign minister, but he is neither a Senator nor a member of the National Assembly.

Ahsan Iqbal is said to have categorically refused to accept the portfolio of information minister, leaving Pervez Rashid as the lone candidate. Interestingly, Nawaz wants to keep the defence ministry portfolio with himself.

Clash of titans

Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, who contested elections from two National Assembly and two provincial assembly seats, is no longer in a strong position as compared to his rival group within the PML-N, led by Khawaja Muhammad Asif.

Nisar contested two provincial assembly seats despite being advised by the party not to do so, a move which has even irked Shahbaz Sharif, who is known to be a close friend of his.

Nisar is nevertheless likely to be given the Petroleum, Oil and Gas portfolio.

Asif, on the other hand, is lobbying to get a good portfolio not only for himself but also for his aide Khawaja Saad Rafique from Lahore.

Engineer Khurram Dastgir will be given the Ministry of Trade and Commerce, while Baleeghul Rehman will be accommodated from Bahawalpur.

Meanwhile, two candidates – General (retd) Abdul Qayyum and General (retd) Ziauddin Butt – are lobbying for the post of national security adviser.

Ishaq Dar, who is currently the leader of the opposition in Senate, will be elevated as the finance minister. Raja Zafarul Haq is in the running to take his place in Senate.

Meanwhile, if Achakzai is appointed as the NA speaker, Sumaira Malik will be given the slot of deputy speaker.

US ambassador

Punjab caretaker chief minister Najam Sethi has emerged as a hot candidate for the coveted post.

Governorships

PML-N’s General Secretary Zafar Iqbal Jhagra and Mehtab Khan Abbasi are in the race for the portfolio of K-P governor, while PML-N’s Information Secretary Mushahidullah Khan and PML-N’s Sindh President Syed Ghous Ali Shah are contenders for the Sindh governorship.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 16^th, 2013.

The incumbent in the office, Makhdoom Ahmed Mehmood, announced on Monday that he was resigning as it was the new government’s prerogative to appoint a governor of its choosing.

Sources in the PML-N said that there were two strains of opinion in the party, one proposing that the next governor be from Bahawalpur division, and the other that he be from DG Khan division. Almost everyone agreed that the governor should be from the south, since the likely chief minister, Shahbaz Sharif, is from central Punjab.

Khosa, who is from DG Khan, has already served as Punjab governor, the last time that the PML-N controlled the federal government, from 1997 to 1999. Though he has been shortlisted for a potential repeat in the office, there are several factors weighing against him.

First, there is the poor relationship that his sons have with the PML-N. Sardar Saifuddin Khan Khosa ran in the general elections on a Pakistan Peoples Party ticket. And Sardar Dost Muhammad Khosa, who served briefly as chief minister in the PML-N provincial government in 2008 before Shahbaz Sharif retook the office, was denied a party ticket for the elections.

The second factor against Khosa is his rivalry with the Legharis of DG Khan, who have won some independent seats in the elections and are being wooed to join the government side. The Legharis are unlikely to be pleased with Khosa entering the governor’s mansion again.

Some in the PML-N also feel that there have been too many Khosas as governor recently, with Sardar Latif Khosa from DG Khan also having served in the office in 2011-12, under the PPP.

The other name that the PML-N’s senior leaders have so far considered for the post is that of Chaudhry Saud Majid of Bahawalpur. Some in the party believe that he will serve as a good counterweight to the influential Makhdoom Ahmed Mehmood of the PPP in Bahawalpur.

Majid ran for the NA-187 seat in Bahawalpur, but lost by a small margin to Chaudhry Tariq Bashir of the PML-Quaid. The party believes the main reason for his loss was his opposition by the Nawab of Bahawalpur, over Majid’s decision not to join the parliamentary commission for the formation of a new province in south Punjab.

The PPP-led federal government had nominated Majid as a member of the commission, but he did not join it on the instructions of his party, which was boycotting the commission.

As a result, Nawab Salahuddin of Bahwalpur threw his support behind Cheema at NA-187. He launched a campaign in three union councils in Cholistan – the Nawab’s hunting grounds of Derawar, Mirana and Charnar – saying Majid’s boycott of the commission was the major obstacle to the formation of a Bahawalpur province.

“Majid sacrificed his seat for the sake of party policy. The leadership feels he is owed something,” said a PML-N official.

He added that Majid’s ascension to the governor’s office would also raise his profile and give him the chance to combat the Nawab of Bahawalpur and Makhdoom Ahmed Mehmood, whose son won a Rahim Yar Khan seat in the elections.

The official said that discussions were still ongoing and party chief Nawaz Sharif would make a final decision once he is sworn in as prime minister.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 16^th, 2013.

One of PML-N’s two subcommittees, led by Ayaz Sadiq, will be travelling to Balochistan today, where it will make the decision. The other subcommittee, led by Rana Mashhood, will return to Lahore today after a successful trip to Sindh.

The two committees have been tasked to hold talks with political parties in the two provinces as well as independent lawmakers-elect over the possibility of forming coalition governments either in the Centre or in the provinces.

Ayaz Sadiq and Iqbal Zafar Jhagra will hold final meetings with Baloch nationalists and heads of various political parties, in this regard.

According to sources, PML-N’s choice for NA speaker is linked to its chances at forming a government in Balochistan: If Nawaz’s party awards the portfolio of NA speaker to Achakzai, the PML-N would, in turn, be able to claim the post of chief minister Balochistan, which the party plans to hand to Sardar Sanaullah Khan Zehri.

PML-N’s senior leadership, however, has advised Nawaz to pick Baloch as the speaker considering he is a party loyalist, and to keep Achakzai as the second option.

In the Balochistan Assembly, there are a total of 65 seats – 51 general seats, 11 women seats and three for non-Muslim members. Thirty-three seats are required to form a government.

According to statistics, the PML-N and the PkMAP secured nine seats each while National Party claimed seven, from Balochistan.

While talking with The Express Tribune, Zehri said that with four seats for women and one minority seat, the PML-N has a total of 15 MPAs – the same number as the MPAs in PkMAP. He added that NP is also willing to join their coalition, through which they would easily form a government in Balochistan.

Commenting on the expected portfolio of NA speaker, he said both Baloch and Achakzai have a good reputation.

Achakzai, on the other hand, told The Express Tribune that he was not aware of any such development, and would be able to comment on the matter when he meets PML-N officials.

Sindh

Meanwhile, according to sources, the PML-N has finalised matters with the PML-F, Arbab Ghulam Rahim, and the National Peoples Party and has also struck deals with its own members in Sindh. PML-F’s Pir Pagara will hold a final meeting with Nawaz Sharif within three days in Raiwind. According to details, Pagara’s meeting will be followed by a meeting of other party chiefs in Sindh. All heads will finalise their deals with Nawaz and give him the go-ahead in the Centre.

PML-N’s committee has devised a development package for Sindh, and its allied parties presented a list of their proposed development projects which the PML-N government will have to fulfill. Apart from this, the composition of the federal cabinet, chairmen of various committees in the National Assembly and other portfolios were also discussed.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 15^th, 2013.

On Tuesday, Sherry Rehman ended her two-year stint as Islamabad’s top diplomat to Washington by quitting her post.

Rehman, who was also a former member of the National Assembly and the ex-information minister, was assigned the key diplomatic post in 2011 after her predecessor, Hussain Haqqani, resigned over the memogate scandal.

A spokesperson for the Pakistani Embassy in Washington confirmed her resignation.

“Congratulating the new parliament on its election, Ambassador Sherry Rehman has sent in her resignation to the PM,” the embassy said on its official Twitter account early Tuesday Pakistan Standard Time.

Manzoor Wattoo resigns as PPP Punjab president

Mian Manzoor Ahmed Wattoo, president of PPP’s central Punjab chapter, also submitted a letter of resignation to Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, accepting failure in performing his duties.

Wattoo accepted responsibility for PPP’s defeat in the general elections in Punjab. He listed the problems of water and electricity scarcity, economic instability and media trials as the reasons for defeat.

Senator Aitzaz Ahsan offers resignation

Senior PPP leader and Senator Barrister Aitazaz Ahsan also offered his resignation from the upper house of parliament on Tuesday.

According to Aitzaz, voting results were bizarre as some polling stations had recorded a 150% voter turnout.

Results given by the Election Commission of Pakistan should be reviewed, he added.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 15^th, 2013.

“I told him that we should work together to bring prosperity to the people of Pakistan. He also said that we should remove our anger,” Nawaz told journalists after visiting Imran, who is recuperating at the Shaukat Khanum Memorial Hospital after sustaining head and back injuries in a fall during a rally last Tuesday.

“We have resolved our differences today. He assured me of a good working relationship,” he said.

During campaigning Nawaz and his party, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, were harshly critisised by Imran. Similarly, PML-N leaders also heaped criticism on Imran during their public speeches in the run-up to the elections.

Interestingly, Imran had earlier refused to see Nawaz Sharif in the hospital. Many wonder what caused this rapprochement between the two bitter rivals? The Saudi ambassador brought about this change of heart, according to sources.

Sources said that top Saudi envoy in Islamabad, Abdul Aziz Ibrahim Saleh Al Ghadeer, met Imran at the hospital on Tuesday morning to enquire about his health. And it was he who persuaded him to see Nawaz Sharif. Sources added that close mutual friends of the two leaders also played a crucial role.

PTI senior leader Naeemul Haq confirmed that the Saudi ambassador met with Imran – but denied that he facilitated the meeting with Nawaz.

“He [Imran] congratulated me for victory and I also congratulated him for his victory in the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa,” Nawaz said. “We don’t have any personal rivalry. Pakistan is in trouble and we should work together to give a better Pakistan to next generations,” he added.

Using cricketing diction in a lighter vein, the would-be premier also said that “we will play a friendly match, once he recovers”.

Nawaz pledged to work together with Imran, whose PTI has emerged as the third largest party in the National Assembly and the largest part in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. He also tried to lay to rest rumours that the PML-N was planning to cobble together a coalition government in K-P. “We respect PTI’s mandate in K-P and we expect him to respect our mandate for moving forward,” he added. He refused to comment on protest sit-ins by PTI supporters in major urban centres of the country against alleged rigging in the elections.

Asked about future relations with the United States, the incoming premier said Pakistan wants to resolve all contentious issues through talks. In an interaction with foreign journalists on Monday, Nawaz said that US drone strikes in tribal regions were challenging Pakistan’s sovereignty.

Unease in PTI

Nawaz’s overture — delivered with a bouquet of flowers — to Imran has disillusioned PTI supporters who have been staging dharnas against alleged rigging in the elections. The PTI chief had said during campaigning that Nawaz was on a list drawn up of 500 corrupt people who would face the consequences if he was voted to power. Senior PTI leadership also reportedly complained to Imran that they were not taken into confidence.

On the other hand, some PML-N officials said the party was worried about the persisting protests by PTI supporters against alleged rigging in the elections and their social media campaign against PML-N’s victory. This, according to them, forced Nawaz and senior party leaders to go and visit Imran as a goodwill gesture.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 15^th, 2013.