July 31, 2002	Wednesday	Jamadi-ul-Awwal 20,1423

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ISLAMABAD July 30: Pakistan Muslim League (N) Chairman Raja Zafarul Haq has emerged as a potential candidate for nomination/election as party president in the intra-party elections to be held on August 3 to replace exiled party leader Mian Nawaz Sharif, informed sources disclosed to Dawn here on Tuesday.

A senior party source, who requested anonymity, claimed that returning home by Nawaz Sharif or any member of his family was not possible at least before the October polls since the Sharifs had been exiled under the Saudi government’s guarantee.

The source said that after a realization that Mian Nawaz Sharif could not retain the office of the party president under the amended PPO 2002 as well as being a court convict, the Sharif family had been asked to take a decision as to whom it wanted to nominate.

When the source was asked as to who would be his (Mr Sharif’s) replacement, he said though Raja Zafarul Haq was the unanimous choice both for the party and the Sharif family, a decision could even be taken in favour of a person from within the party and in that case Begum Kulsoom Nawaz would be the first favourite.

According to the source, Mian Nawaz Sharif was told by senior party leaders that his position was different from that of Benazir Bhutto and that he could not retain himself in office as he had not been acquitted in the helicopter case in which he had filed an appeal. Moreover, the punishment of disqualification for 21 years was there and unless challenged and remitted, he could not become an office-bearer of the party.

Mr Sharif, after listening to the arguments on telephone, said that under the circumstances, there would be no alternative but to nominate/elect his replacement since he did not want that the party at home faced hardships first in registration with the election commission and then in contesting the polls.

Although Mr Sharif was accorded remission by President Musharraf in his imprisonment in the Karachi case, he and his family had agreed under an agreement to pay huge amounts as plea bargain.

On the other hand, Benazir Bhutto’s sentence was on the charge of absconding, which could be challenged in the court on her return and surrender.