PML-N leader and former prime minister Nawaz Sharif’s daughter, Maryam Nawaz Sharif, has reffairmed that there will be no elections in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces until “wrong things done to Sharif” are righted and PTI chief Imran Khan is held accountable, reported Dawn.
“There will be no elections until Imran Khan is held accountable. There will be no elections unless there is a level playing field,” Sharif told PML-N workers at a convention in Sheikhupura. Sharif reiterated her position just days after President Arif Alvi set April 30 as the date for Punjab elections in accordance with a Supreme Court order.
Further, according to the Dawn report, Sharif claimed that her father had been wronged and that it should be undone. “Elections will be conducted only after the scales of justice have been balanced,” she said.
She also hit out at former chief justice of Pakistan Saqib Nisar for claiming that he had not declared Imran Khan sadiq and ameen (truthful and honest) in all aspects of his behaviour.
“A major character for conspiracy against Nawaz Sharif has confessed,” Sharif said, referring to Nisar.
According to Sharif, the former chief justice said he disqualified Nawaz Sharif in 2017 because some people thought it was necessary at the time. The conspirators against Sharif “are facing ignominy,” she said, adding that Nisar would soon speak the whole truth.
She also called out the PTI chief for repeatedly missing court hearings, saying he wouldn’t be able to save his skin in the Toshakhana and prohibited funding cases for long.
“Imran Khan claimed he couldn’t go to jail because he was 72 years old. But if the 72-year-old can commit corruption, he must also go to jail,” Sharif said.
During her visit to Sheikhupura, two factions of the PML-N emerged — one led by federal minister Javed Latif and other by federal minister Rana Tanvir Hussain.
To assuage Tanvir’s concerns, Sharif cut her two-day visit short and postponed her next Sheikhupura tour until the middle of this month. Tanvir has a close relationship with Nawaz Sharif, whereas Latif has a close relationship with Maryam Nawaz.
Meanwhile, Saad Rafique, the minister for Aviation and Railways, on Tuesday said he was unsure whether elections would be held in both provinces. He told the reporters in Lahore — that even those who have made the decision to hold the elections are unsure about this — presumably referring to judges.
He said that “they” claimed elections should be held in both provinces without a level playing field, but this was “impossible”.
Several PML-N leaders, including Rana Sanaullah, Ahsan Iqbal, Attaullah Tarar, and Talal Chaudhry, are still adamant that polls can’t be held “on the wishes of PTI Chairman Imran Khan.”
The PPP, on the other hand, is pressing ahead with poll preparations. The party is seeking applications from potential candidates in order to award tickets in the Punjab general election, the Dawn reported.