Nawaz Sharif may be back in Islamabad .... reaches out to Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari duo for right numbers ::: He has crucial 'Army blessings'

 

PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif delivers his ‘victory speech’ at Model Town....flanked by brother Shehbaz Sharif and daughter Maryam Nawaz

PML-N leader Nawaz Sharif had announced that he had tasked his brother, former PM Shehbaz Sharif, to reach out to major parties such as PPP, MQM-P and others, to form an alliance.

In this vein, Shehbaz met with PPP leader Asif Ali Zardari and his son, Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, at the residence of Punjab caretaker Chief Minister Mohsin Naqvi, reports 'Dawn' newspaper.   

“The meeting was a kind of beginning of something big,” said a PPP source, indicating that they discussed the results of the polls and the post-election situation. 

Later, Shehbaz also spoke to MQM-P Convener Dr Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui, senior leader Aminul Haque told Dawn. He said Mr Sharif had phoned them late in the evening, and both sides would hold a meeting “very soon”.

“We are celebrating our victory at Jinnah Ground in Azizabad on Saturday (today). The meeting would be held after that,” he said.

Before the general elections, the MQM-P had announced that it would support Nawaz Sharif as the prime ministerial candidate after elections. However, the dismal performance of the PML-N provided the MQM-P an opportunity to rethink, as Mr Haque refused to comment when reminded about his party’s electoral deal with the N-league.

Separately, MQM-P convener Dr Siddiqui invited all independent candidates who won the elections to join his party. “Although we don’t have a briefcase our doors are open for all independent candidates,” he told a press conference. 

The Majlis Wahdatul Muslimeen (MWM), who have had a long-standing relationship with the PTI since the latter’s sit-in outside Parliament House in 2014, are also said to be in the mix.

Sources in both parties told Dawn the possibility of PTI-backed independents merging with MWM in a bid to maintain discipline among its cadre and grab reserved seats for women and minorities.  

The Pakistan Army chief Gen Syed Asim Munir said, according to the ISPR, that Pakistan’s diverse polity and pluralism will be well-represented by a unified government of all democratic forces imbibed with national purpose.

He added: “Elections and democracy are means to serve people of Pakistan and not ends in themselves. The nation needs stable hands and a healing touch to move on from the politics of anarchy and polarisation which does not suit a progressive country of 250 million people.

“Elections are not a zero-sum competition of winning and losing but an exercise to determine the mandate of the people. Political leadership and their workers should rise above self-interests and synergise efforts in governing and serving the people which is perhaps the only way to make democracy functional and purposeful.”

He continued: “As the people of Pakistan have reposed their combined trust in the Constitution of Pakistan, it is now incumbent upon all political parties to reciprocate the same with political maturity and unity.

“As we move forward from this national milestone we must reflect on where the country stands today and where our rightful place should be in the comity of nations.”

The statement added that the Army chief wishes that these elections bring in political and economic stability and prove to be the harbinger of peace and prosperity for our beloved Pakistan.