PML-N forms body to discuss interim set-up with allies

PM Shehbaz directs coalition partners to form negotiation committees

ISLAMABAD:

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has formed a four-member committee of the PML-N for negotiations with other coalition partners on the caretaker set-up.

Sources said the committee would prepare a roadmap for the dissolution of the assemblies, caretaker prime minister, and seat adjustment with the allies.

They added that the committee comprised senior party leaders, including Defence Minister Khawaja Asif, Railways and Aviation Minister Khawaja Saad Rafique, Economic Affairs Minister Ayaz Sadiq and Finance Minister Ishaq Dar.
They continued that the committee would negotiate with the PPP, JUI-F, MQM-P and other allies in the ruling coalition.

The decision to form the committee was made during a meeting of PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif with PPP Co-chairman and former president Asif Ali Zardari as well as his son, party Chairman and Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, in Dubai on June 27.

According to the sources, the committee will discuss seat adjustments in case a third major political force emerged in Punjab.

In case a third major political force does not surface in Punjab, the two parties with influence in the province will contest elections independently.

PM Shehbaz also directed the allied parties to form their negotiation committees to discuss these matters.

The sources said the premier had already held the first round of talks with the coalition partners.

PM Shehbaz has yet to discuss the issue of the caretaker prime minister with PTI’s estranged leader Raja Riaz.

The committee will seek proposals for the name of the caretaker premier from the allies.

The coalition partners will also provide their input for the caretaker set-up and discuss the issue of seat adjustments.

On Wednesday, an MQM-P delegation met with Premier Shehbaz at the PM House.

The delegation, led by party Convener Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui, included Federal Minister for Information Technology Syed Aminul Haque, Sindh Governor Kamran Khan Tessori, Dr Farooq Sattar and Mustafa Kamal.

According to the MQM-P spokesperson, PM Shehbaz bluntly told the delegation that the decision to conduct the elections on the basis of the old census had not been made.

The spokesperson added that the prime minister had issued directives for correcting the irregularities found in the voter lists of the citizens of Sindh, especially in Karachi.

PM Shehbaz, according to the spokesperson, had assured the delegation of consulting with the MQM-P at every stage of making all important decisions.

In a meeting with Zardari and Bilawal held at the PM House on Tuesday, the premier discussed the overall political situation in the country and consulted about the caretaker set-up.

Earlier this month, PM Shehbaz met with JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman in an apparent bid to defuse growing tensions in the ruling alliance.

The meeting came a day after the JUI-F chief publicly expressed disappointment at the delay on the part of the PML-N to take into confidence other parties in the Pakistan Democratic Alliance (PDM) about its leaders’ secret meeting with the PPP leaders in Dubai.

An official statement issued after the meeting read that Fazl and his son – Federal Minister for Communication Maulana Asad Mahmood – met with Premier Shehbaz at the PM House in Islamabad and discussed the current political situation of the country.

The official statement mentioned only one meeting but the sources revealed that Shehbaz and the Maulana later held another round of talks attended by key PML-N leaders, including Finance Minister Dar, Economic Affairs Minister Sadiq, and Education Minister Rana Tanveer.

At the second meeting, the two sides not only discussed the Dubai meeting but also the date for the next general elections as well as names for the caretaker set-up.