Four PML-N lawmakers deny, two confirm meeting PM

MPAs Sharaqpuri and Daha say they met premier but don’t plan to switch sides

LAHORE: Four lawmakers of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) have denied and two have confirmed meeting Prime Minister Imran Khan.

Punjab Assembly members Mian Muhammad Shoaib Awaisi, Faisal Akram Niazi, Mahmoodul Haq and MNA Riaz Hussain Pirzada refuted reports that they met the prime minister.

However, Punjab lawmakers Mian Jaleel Ahmed Sharaqpuri and Nishat Ahmad Khan Daha told the media that they had indeed met the premier.

The three MPAs and one MNA who denied the reports said they had complete confidence in the PML-N leadership and they would continue to remain loyal to the party.

They added that they had informed the party leadership about the baseless rumours that were being spread about them.

The PML-N lawmakers said they believed only their party could pull the country out of its existing crises.

PM hits out at opposition for ‘selected’ taunt

They said they reserved their right to take legal action against those spreading fake news about them.

MPA Sharaqpuri told The Express Tribune that he had not violated the party’s rules by meeting the prime minister.

“The prime minister has not asked me to join the PTI [Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf],” he added.

“I contacted the Punjab chief minister for an appointment with prime minister to inform him about the problems of my constituency.”

Sharaqpuri said he was an MPA elected on a PML-N ticket and he had the right to visit the chief minister to take up issues related to his constituency.

“Who else should we meet for the resolution of our problem other than the prime minister and chief minister?”

MPA Daha described his meeting with the prime minister as “two politicians getting together”, and maintained that he had no intention of leaving the PML-N.

PML-N Punjab President Rana Sanaullah said the reports of PML-N lawmakers meeting the prime minister were a malicious propaganda and the party was united under the leadership of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif.

“There is no truth in the reports that 15 PML-N lawmakers met the prime minister.  However, the possibility of four or five members doing so cannot be ruled out. The names being quoted by the media are of those who won the elections as independent candidates,” the PML-N leader said in a statement.

He alleged that a special cell had been set up at the PM House for turncoats. “The government paid Rs15 billion each to members of its coalition parties and now wants to buy the loyalties of PML-N parliamentarians,” he added.

“The national exchequer is being used to convince PML-N lawmakers to switch sides but the government will fail to do so.”

Sanaullah said the PTI government was spreading fake news to divert the attention of the people from the anti-poor budget it had passed.

The PML-N Punjab president also warned his party’s lawmakers that they would face a severe backlash from their constituents if they switched sides without submitting their resignations.

He announced that he would lead the protests outside the homes of the lawmakers who switched sides.

Talking to reporters in Narowal, PML-N leader Ahsan Iqbal said the party had no need for turncoats. “Everyone knows what happened to those who left the PML-N,” he added.

“The PML-N does not believe in horse trading. Our aim is to strengthen democracy.”