Pakistan

PML-N gears up to push for snap polls

Party to move to dislodge govt before Senate elections in March next year.

Zia Khan February 09, 2011

ISLAMABAD: Attempts at assuaging the main opposition seem to have failed as the leadership of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) has decided to initiate a push for dislodging the government and to seek fresh parliamentary elections ahead of the Senate polls in March next year.

During a meeting with party members at the Punjab House on Tuesday, PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif said that he would use the administration’s failure to improve the ailing economy and to control “spiralling” corruption as a pretext for a campaign for holding snap elections. At least two key party officials confirmed to The Express Tribune that the group would set in motion a process to lead the country towards elections from July this year, immediately after the National Assembly passes the budget.

The party has also finalised the plan to expel members of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) from the Punjab cabinet.

If elections for the Senate are held under the current arrangement, the PPP would emerge with a majority in the upper house – meaning that the next administration would be under pressure in terms of legislation.

The PML-N believes it can win the next elections and form the government. “That’s why we want fresh parliamentary polls ahead of the Senate elections,” an explained an official.

“We are not in a hurry, but will definitely give a call for dislodging the inefficient government,” said an official who attended the meeting.

Last month, the PML-N set a 45-day deadline for the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP)-led federal government to implement a 10-point agenda it proposed for steering the country’s economy out of a deepening economic crisis.

The deadline is set to end on February 23.

The PML-N’s demands include cutting down on non-development expenditures, reducing the size of the cabinet and eradicating corruption from government departments.

There has been some development on the implementation, but the PML-N said it was too little too late.

“The pace and the swiftness we wanted the government to act with, is missing. That is what’s bothering us the most and there is hardly any hope for any breakthrough,” the PML-N member said, declining to be named.

According to the plan envisaged during the meeting, the party official added, the PML-N would wait till the deadline expires before kicking the PPP members out of the Punjab cabinet.

“That will be the first step. Tougher things will follow,” he explained. “We will seek fresh elections this year.”

Meanwhile, a statement issued by the party media office quoted Sharif as expressing disappointment in the progress of the talks with the government for implementing the reform agenda. “There is no ray of hope,” Sharif told his party stalwarts.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 9^th, 2011.

COMMENTS (12)

Aqeel Mughal | 13 years ago | Reply PML-N is making efforts on two thronged strategy. On the question of Raymond Davis, she thinks she has cornered PPP and soon dollar flow from West would minimize or stop outright. But, this is not all said and done. PML-N cannot grab the center in the next election (whenever it takes place) simply because in reality this party is only confined to North Punjab. Like good olden and golden days, she wants a romantic relation with establishment to manipulate the next election one more time. If armed forces lose the helpline of USA, a natural reaction for them would be to have a tilt to PML-N which is missing at this point in time.

Noshaba | 13 years ago | Reply The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz is running out of patience vis-à-vis its quest for saving the existing democratic system but is not short of options in case it has to say good-bye to the Pakistan People’s Party government in the next 15 days at the end of a 45 day deadline it had set for the implementation of a 10-point agenda, a PML-N leader confided to Daily Times on Monday. Sources said the PML-N has set up a committee comprising senior party leaders to work on a strategy to pull the PPP government down through constitutional means and discuss the prospects of the party in the resultant mid-term elections. The source said a consultation meeting of the PML-N had been summoned in Islamabad on Tuesday (today) to review the progress so far made on the 10-point agenda that the party had set for the PPP-led coalition government to allow it to function for the remaining two years of its five years term. The source said senator Ishaq Dar, Mehtab Abbasi and senator Pervaiz Rashid would brief the top party leadership on the progress the PPP government had made in consultation with the PML-N committee. The meeting will evaluate the progress and will decide whether to continue to exercise restrain for the remaining 15 days left in the completion of the deadline or decide otherwise since the party has already made up its mind to get rid of the PPP ministers of the Punjab government who have planned to stage a sit in to press the provincial government to acknowledge their 19-point agenda they have set for Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif.

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Aftab Kenneth Wilson | 13 years ago | Reply So what will Mr. Nawaz Sharif and his party achieve by snap polling. I think let this government complete their tenure because next government will also face same problems. These are the main reasons that we face "takeovers" and courts act quick to legalize them. We should not expect any true change through the hands of Arab and Crore Pati leaderships.

kumar | 13 years ago | Reply @Faisal Shaji: can you explain how?

Ali | 13 years ago | Reply Does anyone remeber the last time Sharif was in power? What was our economic growth then? Did unemployment rise or fall? How about our foreign exchange levels and international debt? Law and order? Educational and health standards? I once remember Nawaz claiming that Pakistan would have been a tiger economy if he had not been pushed from power! In 1998 the Pakistan governement begged Kuwait for money in order to avoid defaulting. During his reign economic growth rates were abysmal, law and order was so poor that he and Gen. Karamat had an argument over the issue and Karamat got the boot. The list goes on and on. How can he ask the current government to end corruption when he himself lost power due to nepotism, corruption, violent thug like behaviour on two seperate occasions? What is he promising the people this time?

hahahah | 13 years ago | Reply ^lol at how Imran is desperate enough to promote himself

imran | 13 years ago | Reply PML(N) has disappointed the nation and should not be depended upon. Better we try Imran Khan at least once

misk | 13 years ago | Reply Nawaz is the only hope for our country.

Faisal Shaji | 13 years ago | Reply PML N is a disgrace. Had they not wound up local bodies system their could have been a mechanism to control inflation in the country........

Shoaib Cheema | 13 years ago | Reply PMLN is the worst political party in Pakistan. This party is enjoying opposition role while ruling 60% of Pakistan. When PMLN took over Punjab it had RS 48 billion surplus, while now the province is in Rs. 150 billion debt due to bad policies, bad governance and corruption. PPP and PMLN are the two faces of the same coin.

Pakistani | 13 years ago | Reply People must discard both PPP and PML - Elections should be held without them - Both should be banned as becoz of them we are facing this crisis. Allah save Pakistan from these plunderers

Haseeb | 13 years ago | Reply It is high time know. The Government is unable to control inflation and the increase in the amount of unemployment and that they don't have the firm control over any thing in Pakistan, it shows that the cabinet has become a lame duck cabinet. The only thing the government should do is accept to the reforms and do as the opposition and the public dictates them to do and DISGRACE their remaining part of dignity that remains or like patriots should resign (which they would never do) and tell the off stage actors to run the country and if they too fail to manage the country should laugh at them and come up with the new slogan for in the future elections for the claim of Bibi's murderer's arrest will not help them win the election until another PPP leader is shoot dead in the open public.

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