PM unmoved as resignation call rises to a crescendo

Nawaz summons meetings of cabinet and parliamentary party of PML-N

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif will not step aside notwithstanding a crescendoing demand from the opposition for his resignation. This is what his top ministers say. Nonetheless Sharif has been conferring with his top legal and political aides since the JIT report stirred up a political storm in the country.

Premier Sharif had had another brainstorming session with top members of the ruling party on Wednesday to weigh the options available to him and his family. Officially, there was no word on the huddle, but sources said the PML-N leadership favoured delaying the matter till a ‘suitable time’.

“We are going to play it cool till the dust is settled,” a PML-N source told The Express Tribune. The Sharif family’s legal aides are poring over the JIT report to contest its findings in the Supreme Court next week, he added.

They might raise objections over ‘violation of its mandate’ by the JIT; its aggressive style of report writing, and evidence and allegations leveled by it. This is a time-buying tactic on the part of the PML-N, another source added.



Punjab Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif also attended Wednesday’s consultative session which was chaired by Premier Nawaz Sharif.

One of the participants told The Express Tribune that Sharif’s legal aides have explained to him that “it will be a bit too difficult” to put up a convincing defence against the JIT report in the apex court.

“The only thing we can do is to drag things until a suitable time,” the source said. Therefore, political options are also being relied upon – to bash the JIT and ridicule its report.

However, the political options also appear to be dwindling given that the legal fraternity has also joined the chorus of the opposition parties calling for Sharif’s resignation.

Perhaps this is the reason a hushed talk of an in-house change is being heard in the ruling party – something that was unthinkable until now. Informal discussions with insiders suggest that some circles in the PML-N believe Sharif should step down as a preemptive move before he is disqualified by the Supreme Court.

Cabinet and parliamentary party meetings

Premier Sharif has convened a meeting of his cabinet, which is expected today (Thursday). Sources said Sharif would seek suggestions from his ministers on the prevailing political situation and the options to tackle it.



Moreover, Sharif, in his capacity as the PML-N chief, has also summoned a meeting of the Parliamentary Party on Friday which will be attended by central lawmakers of the PML-N, including Sharif’s political and legal aides.

In defence of Sharif

Government ministers, meanwhile, continued to heap criticism on the JIT. State Minister for Information Marriyum Aurangzeb joined the chorus on Wednesday, saying categorically that Premier Sharif would not resign.

“The JIT was mandated [by the Supreme Court] to find answers to the 13 questions which were related to money laundering and whether the money was used from the national exchequer.

“However, the JIT, instead of confining to its mandate, probed into the personal businesses of the Sharif family, which had nothing to do with the national exchequer. This also confirmed our apprehensions that the JIT is biased and working as part of a conspiracy. Their naked bias is visible in their findings,” Marriyum said at a joint news conference with PML-N politician Daniyal Aziz.

"Insha Allah the prime minister will not only complete his term but will also be reelected in the next elections. Those who are seeking resignation of the prime minister must first read the JIT report," she added.

She said the JIT report would be challenged word by word in the Supreme Court, and "I am sure the Supreme Court would also sense the conspiracy after going through the report and hence would reject it."

She called the JIT report ‘an illusion’ and ‘a pack of lies’. “Who could author 254-page report in merely 60 days?” She questioned. Premier Sharif had faced such conspiracies in the past and would emerge victorious this time too. "All elements within and outside Pakistan who are part of the conspiracy will be exposed this time,” she said.

(With additional reporting by Sehrish Wasif)