Political parties not run via tweets and tickers, says Nisar

Says a narrative targeting state institutions will never find place among masses

ISLAMABAD: Political parties are not run through tweets and tickers, says former interior minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, in a veiled reference to deposed PM Nawaz Sharif’s daughter Maryam Nawaz who hardly ever fails to use her Twitter account to comment on political matters.

In an informal talk with media-persons here on Friday, Nisar said a person who had not even contested a local council election could not be considered a politician. Such non-political figures “have the right to express their opinions, but they should not impose their opinion on the whole party”, he added.



He said that such irrational elements in the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) were trying to create a rift between state institutions.

On the nomination of Shehbaz Sharif as party’s candidate for PM in the next elections, the former interior minister said that the move could prove positive if Shehbaz was allowed to work in line with his own vision.

He said that the PML-N was passing through a critical phase, and decisions should be based on logic instead of emotions. He stressed on the need for taking decisions after consultation.

Nisar strongly opposed the policy of confrontation, urging the party to focus on political rivals and refrain from being embroiled in unnecessary controversies. He said political workers could not even think of becoming part of any anti-judiciary movement.

However, he dropped no such hint that could give even the slightest of the impression that he had any plans to jump the ship.

He said that the PML-N “has an environment where members are free to express themselves”, and no other party offered such an open environment. That was why, he added, he had been associated with the party for 33 years.

“The PML-N is not just a political party, but a democratic party too,” he said.



The former minister said that the narrative targeting national institutions would never find place among the masses. He said that in view of the prevailing circumstances and the upcoming elections, it was important for the PML-N to devise an effective and consensus-based narrative.

“This narrative should encompass solutions for political, economic and national issues besides reflecting the party’s performance over the past four and a half years,” he said. “Only such a narrative can win us the support of the masses.”

He also said that such a comprehensive narrative “is necessary in view of international developments as well as direct and indirect pressures on the country”.