‘Nisar plans to take oath of his PP-10 Rawalpindi seat’

LAHORE:

Former interior minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan plans to take oath of his PP-10 Rawalpindi seat, PTI MPA Chaudhry Muhammad Adnan said on Thursday.

Nisar, a former PML-N stalwart, contested the 2018 general elections as an independent candidate from two national and two provincial assemblies after developing differences with the Sharifs.

He only managed to win the provincial assembly seat of PP-10 Rawalpindi, losing the rest to PTI candidates. Nisar had not taken the oath, saying it would be sheer hypocrisy if he took the oath of the provincial assembly’s seat.

He maintained that being a member-elect of the provincial assembly it would not be justified for him to raise questions over the performance of the National Assembly.

Adnan was not the only person to make such a revelation. A few leaders from the PML-N, who requested anonymity, also confirmed that Nisar planned to take oath.

The PML-N has officially distanced itself from the development with its spokesperson Marriyum Aurangzeb saying that it was not in their knowledge whether Nisar would take oath or not. It is not the first time that media had been abuzz with such news.

In April 2019, there were reports of Nisar taking oath of his PP-10 seat, however, that turned out to be untrue.

Adnan said that until the last four days, people close to Nisar had been denying the news regarding him taking oath but now confirmed the development. The ruling party’s lawmaker termed it a good omen for people of the area, who felt neglected. He said it would be good for Punjab Assembly to have a veteran leader in the house.

A PML-N leader also confirmed that Nisar would take oath. He, however, said it was not clear why he would do so with two years of the incumbent regime remaining. He said the PML-N will not accept him as its candidate for chief minister as some political pundits had speculated.

Chaudhry Nisar is not in Nawaz Sharif’s good books and any such decision would require Sharif’s nod, he said. The PML-N leader noted that Nisar was in good terms with Shehbaz, and to his knowledge was also in touch with him. But that is not enough even for his return to the party as the sole decision-maker in the PML-N is Sharif, he added.

On the other hand, PPP parliamentary leader Hassan Murtaza rubbished the reports surrounding the oath-taking. He maintained that Nisar was not a relevant player in politics, at least for now, and did not enjoy unflinching support of even a few MPAs.

The rift between the Sharifs and Nisar widened when the latter in 2018 said he would not beg the PML-N’s parliamentary committee for an election ticket.

He also criticised the PML-N for having become a “family party”, which he said made it impossible for him to stay in it even though he had never really wanted to quit it. Nisar had a 35-year long association with the party.