ISLAMABAD/LAHORE: The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) on Friday constituted a four-member committee to decide on who would take over as president of the party following the disqualification of Nawaz Sharif as ruling party’s president by the Supreme Court.
The committee comprises Mushahidullah Khan, Khawaja Saad Rafique, Irfan Siddiqui and Senator Pervaiz Rasheed. It will also decide the date for PML-N central working committee meeting where the party will elect its new president. Sources say the meeting is likely to be held after the Senate elections scheduled for March 3.
The committee will ensure that the election of the party’s new president is held as per the principles laid down in PML-N’s constitution.
In a landmark ruling earlier this week, the apex court struck down Section 203 of the Elections Act, 2017, which had paved the way for Nawaz Sharif to regain presidency of PML-N following his ouster as prime minister in the Panama Papers case in July last year.
Talking to reporters in Lahore, Minister for Interior Ahsan Iqbal said that party’s acting president will be elected within seven days, while a permanent president will be chosen in the next 45 days. He said the central working committee of the party was authorized to elect the new president.
To a query, the minister said former prime minister Nawaz Sharif was the soul and spirit of the party and would always be the guiding light for the PML-N. To another query, Ahsan said PML-N was not a drawing room party, adding it had roots and vote bank from Karachi to Gilgit-Baltistan (GB).
Published in Daily Times, February 24th 2018.
