PML-N to play hardball on Imran’s home turf

‘The equation needs to be balanced,’ quips a senior party leader

ISLAMABAD: The leadership of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) has decided to adopt ‘aggressive’ political canvassing in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) to counter its antagonist PTI’s largely Punjab-centric protest campaigns against the prime minister.

In the context of looming political confrontation, the PM is set to visit various constituencies in the KP, especially those where the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has a strong political presence.

The plan, reportedly mapped out on July 29, when the federal government devised its 22-month development strategy, is being given practical touches now, it was learnt.



“The equation needs to be balanced,” commented a senior PML-N leader on this decision, requesting anonymity.

“The wait-and-watch policy is overdone. Other options need to be exercised,” he said with reference to PML-N’s previous policy of dormancy towards PTI’s confrontational politics.

On Wednesday, the PM landed in Chitral, the National Assembly’s lone constituency that belongs to General (retd) Pervaiz Musharraf’s All Pakistan Muslim League (APML).

The PM was sharply criticised by the PTI for ignoring the victims of the deadly suicide attack in Mardan. The premier is yet to visit the area.

Sources close to the PM said that it was highly likely that he would visit Mardan to offer condolences to the bereaved families.

Sharif is scheduled to fly to the US after Eidul Azha to participate in United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) session. His KP tour is expected after his return home but a few visits may take place before Eid, the sources said.

According to them, the prime minister is expected to announce development projects across KP especially in Peshawar, Malakand, Mardan and Hazara divisions where PTI has made political inroads to replace Awami National Party (ANP).

A few days ago, the PM is said to have exchanged notes with members of his ‘kitchen cabinet’, including Ishaq Dar, Khawaja Asif and Pervaiz Rashid, before deciding to adopt a tougher stance towards PTI in the backdrop of an anti-PM rally led by Imran Khan in Lahore.



Senior Vice-President PML-N and the PM’s Advisor Ameer Muqam, however, did not see anything unusual in the reported policy.

“Mian Sahib is the Prime Minister of all of Pakistan. He can go anywhere to interact with the people of Pakistan and address their grievances,” he told The Express Tribune.

“Unlike Imran Khan’s PTI which is restricted to a handful of constituencies, the PM is the representative of the entire country. Mian Sahib prefers to be on the ground, instead of being confined to the PM House. Linking his visits with PTI’s protest campaign is not right.”

In the federal government’s development plan, the construction of Hazara Expressway – connecting Islamabad with Abbottabad via Havelian, Abbottabad-Mansehra Expressway – and the repair of the Islamabad-Peshawar Motorway have been put on priority in KP.

Moreover, the construction of airports in Bannu, Mansehra and Dera Ismail Khan has also been prioritised, the sources said.

On Sept 2, the PM chaired a meeting on aviation matters, including progress on Mansehra and Bannu airports.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 8^th, 2016.