- May 28, 2024
- Kainat Shakeel
- 0
LAHORE: Former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is scheduled to be re-elected as the PML-N president at a general council meeting of the ruling party in Lahore today (Tuesday), six years after he lost the party president’s position as a result of a Supreme Court ruling in the Panama Papers case. Even though up to eleven party members have received the nomination papers for the top position, the gathering, which is scheduled to take place at a nearby hotel, is likely to elect the older Sharif without any opposition. The general council meeting was originally scheduled to take place on May 11 for this reason, but the PML-N decided to postpone it to coincide with Pakistan’s 26th anniversary as a nuclear power.
PML-N Punjab President Rana Sanaullah suggested during a news conference that the previous premier would be chosen without a contest. The elder Sharif responded to a question about potential opponents by saying that any party members who wished to run against him should do so. The Pakistan Muslim League (PML) was a “londi” (servant) of the power corridors, Mr. Sanaullah responded when asked why the party did not use a democratic procedure to choose a new president. It became a popular party thanks to Nawaz Sharif. He stated Nawaz Sharif “made the party vibrant” after Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah. When questioned about Nawaz Sharif’s lack of political activity following the February elections, “Nawaz is not angry with anyone,” he added when asked if he was upset with “someone.” He engages in party activities. Nawaz Sharif makes all significant party and government decisions.
After a Supreme Court bench led by then-chief justice Mian Saqib Nisar decided that a person disqualified under Articles 62 and 63 of the Constitution cannot serve as the head of a political party, Nawaz Sharif was ousted as the party’s president in 2018. He had only been declared permanently ineligible by the Supreme Court in the corruption proceedings linked to the Panama Papers a few months before this ruling. The PML-N Punjab chapter members endorsed a resolution last month encouraging Mr. Nawaz to lead the party because he had been cleared of all corruption charges upon his arrival from London in October of last year. This was the first sign that Mr. Nawaz would be seizing the reins again.
The Supreme Court dismissed Nawaz Sharif in 2017 due to a conspiracy. The resolution stated, “It’s time that he takes on the role of party president and propels the organization to new heights of popularity.” Aside from the Islamabad High Court’s decision to acquit him in the two corruption cases, Avenfield and Al-Azizia, the last obstacle to his reelection was eliminated in January when the Supreme Court overturned parliamentarians’ lifetime disqualification under Article 62(1)(f) of the constitution.