PML-N huddle discusses Sharif’s reinstatement as party chief

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) top leadership on Monday is chairing a meeting at Punjab House here to discuss reinstatement of deposed Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif as chief of the ruling party.

The former premier, Nawaz Sharif, is not in attendance at the party meeting.

Earlier today, Sharif had appeared before the accountability court for the second time in the graft references filed against him by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) in compliance with Supreme Court orders.

The court had set Oct 2(today) for the indictment of Sharif, but it deferred the framing of charges against him. However, it had issued non-bailable warrants (NBWs) for the arrest of his children over their constant absence from the proceedings.

National Assembly session

A National Assembly session has also been summoned today, two days earlier before the scheduled date, whereas President Mamnoon Hussain is expected to sign the Electoral Reforms Bill 2017 into law immediately after passage of the bill from the lower house today.

The move is being deemed as part of the ruling party’s endeavour to restore deposed premier as the party president after getting the Electoral Reforms Bill approved from the lower house of the parliament.

The party is also to convene a meeting on 3^rd Oct (Tuesday).

Electoral Reforms Bill 2017

Last week, the ruling party had managed to muddle through passing the Electoral Reforms Bill 2017 without amending the clause 203, which states that any individual who is not qualified to become a member of the parliament, should not be eligible to become a party’s chairperson either.

The amendment was proposed by the Pakistan Peoples’ Party (PPP), which was defeated by 38 votes to 37 votes in the Senate despite the opposition has more votes in the upper house. Hence, the amendment was rejected by a margin of one vote.

The 67-year-old former PM Sharif was disqualified by the Supreme Court of Pakistan in its landmark Panamagate verdict, announced on July 28 this year.

After the court verdict of Nawaz Sharif’s ouster from the top executive office of the country, the election commission ordered the ruling party to elect a new party chief as a disqualified person could not hold any office in a political party.