Six years after losing the party presidency due to a Supreme Court ruling in the Panama Papers case, former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is poised to be re-elected as the PML-N president at a general council meeting in Lahore today (Tuesday).
The meeting, to be held at a local hotel, is expected to elect Sharif unopposed, despite 11 party members having received nomination papers for the position. Initially, the PML-N had planned the general council meeting for May 11, but it was rescheduled to coincide with the celebration of Pakistan’s 26th nuclear anniversary.
At a press conference, PML-N Punjab President Rana Sanaullah suggested that Sharif would likely be elected without opposition. When asked if there were any other candidates, Sanaullah invited any interested party members to come forward. Addressing why the party did not adopt a democratic voting process for the new president, he remarked, “PML was once a ‘londi’ (servant) of power corridors, but Nawaz Sharif transformed it into a party of the public.”
Sanaullah praised Sharif, saying, “After Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah, Nawaz Sharif made the party vibrant.” He refuted claims that Sharif was inactive in politics post-February elections, stating, “Nawaz is not angry with anyone. He is active in the party and makes all major decisions.”
Sharif was removed as party president in 2018 after a Supreme Court bench led by then-chief justice Mian Saqib Nisar ruled that a disqualified individual could not head a political party. This decision followed his lifetime disqualification by the Supreme Court in the Panama Papers corruption cases.
Last month, the PML-N Punjab chapter passed a resolution urging Sharif to lead the party again, citing his acquittal in all corruption cases since his return from London in October. The resolution stated, “Nawaz Sharif was disqualified in 2017 through a conspiracy. Now it’s time for him to assume the office of party president and elevate the party’s popularity.”
Sharif’s acquittal in the Avenfield and Al-Azizia corruption cases by the Islamabad High Court and the Supreme Court’s decision in January to quash lifetime disqualifications under Article 62(1)(f) removed the final obstacles to his re-election.
Regarding potential talks with the opposition, Rana Sanaullah, also the PM’s aide on political affairs, expressed the ruling PML-N’s openness to dialogue with PTI. He criticized PTI leader Imran Khan’s refusal to engage in political discussions since 2011, warning that Khan’s political style could lead to significant turmoil.
Responding to a question about Imran Khan’s tweet urging Pakistanis to read the Hamoodur Rahman Commission Report to determine the true traitor between General Yahya Khan and Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Sanaullah said, “I pray that [Imran] Khan doesn’t meet the same fate as Mujibur Rahman.”
