In Punjab, house of Sharif as sturdy as cards

LAHORE: Punjab Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif seems to have lost control of the situation sprouting in Punjab due to pressure from religious parties as three more PML-N members of the provincial assembly have announced they will be resigning. Several more, reportedly, are preparing to put pen to paper on their resignations, but Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanaullah is not one of them. He has reportedly refused – again – to agree to the request made by his immediate boss, Shehbaz Sharif.

When asked about the resignation request, Sanaullah told The Express Tribune that only the party president can decide who becomes the chief minister or law minister. He said that since even the chief minister was selected by Nawaz Sharif, which means Nawaz is the only authority from whom he will take orders regarding his resignation.

He added that he would resign immediately if ordered to do so by Nawaz. Interestingly, even when the issue began brewing and the Punjab Government was attempting to defuse the situation, Sanaullah had refused to be presented as a sacrificial lamb and maintained that he would only act on an approach from Nawaz.

These statements, along with allegations from Federal Minister Khawaja Saad Rafique of there being an ulterior motive behind Pir Hameeduddin Sialvi’s demands, have forced a simmering situation to boil over.

Sialvi, who held a Khatam-e-Nabuwat ‘conference’ in Faisalabad, has vowed to hold a similar event in Lahore, reportedly on January 4, if Sanaullah doesn’t go.  MPA Sahibzada Ghulam Nizamuddin Sialvi, however, denied that a Lahore protest is on the cards. He said that the next conference will be in Lahore, but they are still finalizing plans.



Sources in the ruling party said that the fiasco appears to be of the law minister’s own making. He said that while Sialvi’s demand was undoubtedly pointless, as Sanaullah had clarified his statements multiple times, Sanaullah should have still gone to have a sit-down with Sialvi to address his concerns.

He said that Sanaullah’s boss, Shehbaz, had given his word to Sialvi that the latter’s concerns would be addressed, and Sanaullah should have honoured this commitment. He said that all the main religious groups in Punjab are joining hands against the PML-N, was a bad omen for the party. He said that several other parliamentarians will be forced to take tough decisions if this tailspin continues.

According to another source, Sanaullah’s insubordination towards Shehbaz exposes the existence of two camps in the party. He said Sanaullah has toed the line of the Nawaz camp since the start of the Panama episode and even gave statements against state institutions despite Shehbaz’s public opposition to the policy of confrontation. He said that even on the issue of Zaid Hamid’s resignation, he continued defending Hamid despite the Shehbaz camp having suggested that Hamid resign. “Even with the Sialvi issue, he is toeing the Nawaz line of taking a head-on approach instead of the more humble Shehbaz approach to resolving the issue,” the source said.

Provincial Government spokesperson Malik Muhammad Ahmad Khan said that the government was keeping a close watch on the situation and will formulate a party policy soon. Regarding all clerics joining hands against Sanaullah, he said the minister had clarified his position, so the demand was unnecessary while adding that the government understands the delicacy of the situation and hopefully in a few days will be able to bring the situation under control. Malik, however, refused to say who will devise party policy in Nawaz’s absence and why Sanaullah was refusing to accept Shehbaz’s authority.



Sanaullah told The Express Tribune that Sialvi’s conference was a failure despite having been planned by ‘hidden forces’ to damage the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz. He said 40 per cent of the attendees of the conference were from Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf.

“Despite so many major religious parties coming together, Sialvi only managed to gather around 8,000 people.”

Sanaullah claimed that 5,000 people came from Muridke, Narowal, and Jhang, and only three thousand came from Faisalabad. He said that such a weak show does not affect a political party of national standing.

He said religious people should not allow themselves to be used as pawns, and that the Sialvis realised that their plans had failed after several MNAs and MPAs refused to show up at their event. He claimed that Hameeduddin Sialvi began ‘acting up’ after the PML-N refused to give his son a national assembly ticket.

He said he was surprised that the number of resignations kept changing from 15 to 18 and then to 40, “whereas they only managed to show five resignations, of which three have only pledged support for Sialvi”.



Sialvi claimed that he “would announce the other resignations on Sunday, so where are they”, Sanaullah asked, adding that the few that have left were his political opponents, including Sahabzada Hamid Raza Khan and Dost Muhammad Khosa. He reminded that Khosa is the same man who is accused of murdering an actress.

MPA Sahibzada Ghulam Nizamuddin Sialvi, who also formally announced his resignation on Sunday, said that the first five resignations were “only a trailer for the government”. He also claimed to have “more than 15” resignations ready, and the number would swell.

He also claimed that over 100,000 people attended their conference, and that they had no support from any political party.