Amidst searing violence, PML-N team dashes to Karachi
“The delegation will meet with the PML-N leaders from Sindh on Tuesday night and the provincial chief minister, Qaim Ali Shah, on Wednesday,” PML-N’s information secretary Mushahidullah Khan told The Express Tribune. Later, they will be joined by Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz, who is due in Karachi on Friday. Sharif is likely to meet with the leaders of the business community and some senior political figures.
The PML-N delegation includes Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, Senator Pervaiz Rashid, Mehtab Khan Abbasi, Abdul Qadir Balooch, Sardar Yaqoob Nasir and Perveiz Malik. They will also meet Governor Ishratul Ebad, business community leaders and civil society members to discuss the ongoing spate of violence in the city.
Sources said that the delegation will first try to establish a communication channel with those parties which it has thus far been reluctant to cajole for a political alliance. And if succeeded, the delegation would give nod to the younger Sharif to join them for high-level negotiations in Karachi.
After finding itself isolated following calculated political moves by the PPP leadership, the PML-N has apparently decided to reach out to other parties. And as part of this move, sources said, the PML-N delegation will also meet with the seer politician Pir Pagara, who is also the head of Pakistan Muslim League-Functional.
The delegation will also try to address intra-party differences in the Sindh chapter of PML-N and win over Ghous Ali Shah, a senior vice president of the party in the province. “The delegation is likely to stay in Karachi for one week. And this could be a turning point in the country’s politics,” sources added.
Published in The Express Tribune, August 24th, 2011.
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