Nawaz Sharif believes govt no more enjoys 'patronage'

ISLAMABAD: Former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, speaking during Tuesday’s meeting of the heads of the component parties of the opposition alliance Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM), said he was sure that the incumbent government no longer enjoys “patronage”, ARY News reported, citing sources privy to the huddle.

The sources said the PML-N supreme leader, Opposition Leader in the National Assembly Shehbaz Sharif and the party’s vice president Maryam Nawaz attended the PDM meeting through video link.

Some opposition leaders raised question over the proposed no-confidence move against the government in the parliament.

“We would have to see which side the “umpire’s finger” is on before tabling a no-confidence motion,” the sources quoted a Baloch leader as saying. The opposition leaders feared that hurdles would be created to frustrate the move.

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At this, Nawaz said he was sure that the government had lost the patronage it enjoyed earlier. He instructed that the opposition alliance contact the government’s allies and the PPP in a bid to enlist their support and that a no confidence motion be tabled against Prime Minister Imran Khan, and not the speaker or deputy speaker of the National Assembly.

The PML-N supremo asked Shehbaz and PDM chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman to start holding meetings on the planned long march against the government from today (Wednesday).