PML-N uneasy over reported 'PTI-establishment deal'

Ruling party in no mood to give PTI an inch of elbow room, claims senior leader

LAHORE:

The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) is in no mood to give Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) an inch of elbow room or political space, a well-placed party leader said, claiming that one PTI faction informed them of the likelihood of a deal with the establishment.

The leader, firmly positioned in the corridors of power, claimed that the PML-N had been informed through Sahibzada Hamid Raza of the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) and others that such an arrangement might be on the cards.

However, he admitted that governments can never fully verify such claims, since these understandings usually take place behind the curtain.

He cautioned that if the deal does materialise, the PML-N would, for obvious reasons, not take it lying down. He warned that even a sliver of political space for PTI could upset the apple cart for the PML-N-led government.

The leader further added that if PTI secured a victory on the judicial front or otherwise, it would be read as the beleaguered party being accommodated.

It is pertinent to mention here that a PTI office-bearer in the central command revealed to The Express Tribune on Saturday that many within the party wanted PTI's incarcerated supremo, Imran Khan, to budge from his position to help the party find some solid ground to stand on.

He said that while diehard workers do not want the party to shift its narrative, they do want the party founder to provide them with some breathing space. He added that fatigue was setting in among all the main leaders and office-bearers.

The noose tightening around Imran Khan's family — case in point being the case instituted against his apolitical nephew — and then the disqualification and sentencing of several leaders in the May 9 case, was, according to him, meant to exert pressure on Imran to strike a deal.

The PML-N leader further revealed that the rumours regarding a 27th Amendment were largely unfounded.

He said that some tweaks in the 18th Amendment and the creation of new provinces were part of ongoing discussions. Among the two, the creation of new provinces was also a discussion pushed and mainstreamed by the establishment.

However, he stressed that no leading political party in power wants new provinces, as this would mean dividing strongholds. He stressed that new provinces were not part of any political party's agenda.