PML-N rallies support for Abbasi’s victory

Party all set to show its strength in special NA session, holds talks with MQM

ISLAMABAD: Ousted prime minister Nawaz Sharif has directed the party’s central lawmakers to ensure maximum presence in the National Assembly today (Tuesday) as the lower house goes to elect new leader of the house (prime minister).

Senior party leaders have been directed to attend the National Assembly session in support of the PML-N candidate for interim premiership Shahid Khaqan Abbasi in order to counter the impression that the ruling party was facing internal rifts in the post-Sharif disqualification period, The Express Tribune has learnt.



Khaqan submitted his nomination papers in the NA Secretariat on Monday to become the second leader in the PML-N to be elevated to the position of the prime minister after Sharif.

Reliable sources in the ruling camp said the PML-N leadership wanted that aggrieved party leaders, comprising the lot that had silently distanced themselves from the party on account of their disagreement on different issues, attend Tuesday’s session to vote for Abbasi.

These include Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, Rana Tanvir Ahmad Khan, Chaudhry Asadur Rehman and others.

In addition, the party’s high command is also trying to woo the support of those leaders who were in the run for the interim premiership – including Khawaja Asif and Ahsan Iqbal.

Speaker Ayaz Sadiq, who would conduct the house proceedings, was also a candidate for the interim premiership.

In the 342-member house, the PML-N has 188 seats, which implies that the N-league’s candidate can easily make it to the premiership.



“Winning Tuesday’s election in the National Assembly is not a big deal. We have visible majority to have our candidate sail through, comfortably. But we want to bag as many votes as possible to win in a big way. This would be a much-needed boost after we received a mega setback on Friday,” the insider said while referring to Sharif’s disqualification at the hands of the Supreme Court.

Sources said Sharif has also tasked senior party leaders – including PML-N Chairman Senator Raja Zafarul Haq to convince powerful MNAs to show up in the assembly.

Reports suggest Asif, who was on a personal tour to the US, had to cut short his trip on Sharif’s directions to land back in Pakistan. It is still not confirmed whether he would attend Tuesday’s NA session.

“If people like Nisar go to support and vote for the PML-N candidate, it would send a strong message across: that the party is united on issues concerning its survival and prestige regardless of differences,” a PML-N MNA said, wishing to be kept unnamed.

The politician hoped that Nisar would attend the assembly session given that he enjoyed cordial terms with Shahid Abbasi unlike Asif and Iqbal.

One of the reasons of Abbasi’s nomination for the interim PM’s slot also entailed the fact that he enjoyed the approval of leaders like Shehbaz Sharif and Nisar, the source said.

Additionally, those PML-N lawmakers from the lower house who were planning to leave for Saudi Arabia prior to Tuesday’s session of the lower house, have been instructed by the PML-N leadership not to leave before attending Tuesday’s session.

Following these directions, some PML-N MNAs had to reschedule their flights till Tuesday night and onwards, it is learnt.

On a personal level, the former premier is also reaching out to dissident leaders and holding meetings with them in Murree. He is expected to move to Lahore to interact with the aggrieved party leaders from the Punjab chapter soon.

Apart from party leaders, Sharif is also in contact with the N-League’s allies in parliament. Lately, Sharif has met JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman and PkMAP chief Mehmood Khan Achakzai.

Fazl chaired a JUI-F huddle on Monday that decided to support Abbasi. Earlier on Sunday, Abbasi met Fazl on reported instructions of Sharif to seek the JUI-F’s support in the prime ministerial election.

Speaking to The Express Tribune, PML-N chairman Raja Zafarul Haq dispelled reports of a rift in the PML-N.

“All the rank and file in our party are united under the leadership of Nawaz Sharif — whether he is in the office or not. A towering personality like him is not dependent on official positions to lead millions of people of Pakistan,” he said.



Haq said maximum number of PML-N MNAs would attend the NA session to vouch for the party’s political power and parliamentary strength.

“Our critics and the opposition will get a befitting reply on Tuesday,” he confidently said.

Meanwhile, The Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) is likely to support Shahid Khaqan Abbasi if the latter agrees to its demands of a special development package for Karachi and other urban centres in Sindh.

The demands that the MQM-P has made with the PML-N includes assurance to hand back over to the party its 'legal offices' that have been sealed since last August’s crackdown against it by the federal authorities.

MQM-P's head Farooq Sattar and other top tier leaders Amir Khan, Dr Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui and Kunwar Naveed Jamil have been in Islamabad since Sunday to negotiate a better deal for their support to the ruling party. Karachi mayor Waseem Akhtar has also been summoned to the federal capital.

They will meet the PML-N delegation headed by Abbasi at the Parliament Lodges at 11am on Tuesday.

The MQM-P, according to the sources, is looking for around Rs30 billion package for Karachi as well as possession of the party's headquarters in Azizabad, dubbed Nine Zero.

“We put before the PML-N delegation our demand for a fair share in resources for Karachi which generates 70 per cent revenue to the country,” Aminul Haq, MQM-P's Coordination Committee member and head of its information wing, told The Express Tribune.

Haq opined that the final decision to support PML-N candidate or not will be taken after Tuesday’s meeting. “The coordination committee has discussed the issue at length during its Monday meeting and will take a decision that will benefit Karachi and its people,” he added.

He ruled out supporting the PPP during the interim PM election and remarked that the Sindh ruling party never actually cared for the city. “We have had a bad experience in the past... still we welcomed them at our office with open hearts.”

(With input from our correspondent in Karachi)