LAHORE:
As whispers from a meeting behind closed doors, the visit of President Asif Ali Zardari to Jati Umrah, where he was organized by the Sharif family, has caused quiet speculations within the PPP about whether their leaders will continue to criticize the Prime Minister of Punjab, Maryam Nawaz, with the same candidate as before.
A well -located PPP leader, who spoke with the Express PAkGazette, expressed uncertainty about whether the tone of the party towards the prime minister would now restart by following the high -profile but discreet political group.
The repeated attempts to obtain clarity from the senior figures in PPP and PML-N were not answered, particularly at this point.
Two PPP leaders, requesting anonymity, confirmed that the governor of Zarari and Punjab Sardar Salem Haider were housed by Maryam Nawaz Sharif during the weekend.
However, they could not determine who more of the Sharif family was present. One believed that Shehbaz Sharif could have attended the meeting, while Nawaz Sharif’s alleged was among the hosts.
Given the nature of the Hush-Hush meeting, none of the leaders was aware of the content of the discussions.
However, they speculated that the meeting could help calm tensions and soften the relationships between the prime minister and the governor, an association that has not been without its part of friction.
One of the leaders said that with the PTI effectively outside the formal political arena, the political contest in Punjab had been reduced to a “duel” between the PPP and PML-N. He said that in such circumstances, the PPP could not afford to be seen maintaining openly cordial ties with the PML-N, at least not in public.
“Punjab is of the utmost importance if the PPP must form the central government. We may not realistically point the provincial government in Punjab, but unless the PML-N feels genuinely threatened in its local territory, it will never grant space to Bilawal Bhutto Zardari in the next term for the Prime Minister,” he argued.
The same leader said that, according to the information received through party lines, some members had been “communicated to take it easy” about their criticisms of Sharifs.
However, he added, it was not clear if this advice was rooted in formal instructions or simply in a cautious reading of political temperature.
However, the other PPP leader denied having received communication from this type of party leadership. “We will continue our constructive criticisms to this government,” he said.
He also said that his own most important question was why Zardari had remained in Lahore during the last seven days. “Something feels out of this trip.” He pointed out that all arrangements in the governor’s house had become the eleventh hour and in a hurry.
According to him, an explanation could be that the governor himself is not particularly invested in the maintenance of his official residence.
However, he added a more speculative observation: “It seems that no one knew exactly the duration or purpose of Zarari’s stay, especially in the governor’s house.”
