September 23, 2007	Sunday	Ramazan 10, 1428

ISLAMABAD, Sept 22: Central Working Committee (CWC) of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) will be held here on Sunday on one-point agenda of discussing the forced deportation of party chief Nawaz Sharif and to find out causes behind the failure of its leadership to mobilise workers and the public to welcome the former prime minister, Nawaz Sharif, on his arrival in Pakistan on September 10.

Talking to Dawn on Saturday, PML-N Information Secretary Ahsan Iqbal said the CWC meeting would review the political situation in the country after the forced deportation of Nawaz Sharif to Saudi Arabia.

Mr Iqbal said the CWC members would look into the causes of the failure of the party’s plan to mobilise the public to receive Nawaz Sharif at the airport. “We will find out the lapses. There is a possibility that we form a committee to find those responsible,” he said.

Mr Iqbal said the party would also discuss the future strategy to bring Nawaz Sharif back to the country. “After all, he (Mr Sharif) has to come back. That is not the end,” he said.

The PML-N had failed to show its street power when its chief Nawaz Sharif was forcefully deported to Saudi Arabia hours after arriving in the country exposing lack of coordination among those who had devised the plan to accord, what they had been claiming, a historic welcome to the former prime minister. Most of the party leaders and workers were arrested without offering any resistance and they failed to reach the airport.

Prior to Mr Sharif’s arrival, the PML-N leaders in their press conferences had been claiming that one million people would reach the airport to receive the former premier.

The sources said PML-N president Shahbaz Sharif in his telephonic address during a party meeting on September 12 also expressed his anger and displeasure over the poor arrangements made by the local leadership of the party to accord welcome to his brother Nawaz Sharif.

The sources said Shahbaz Sharif was very upset over media reports that no PML-N worker made serious attempt to reach Islamabad airport what to talk about the general public.

The sources in the party told Dawn that Mr Hashmi had actually called a news conference on Tuesday to announce his resignation from the party office taking full responsibility of the party’s failure to accord a warm welcome to Mr Sharif on September 10 when he landed at Islamabad airport in an attempt to end his seven-year exile. As soon as Mr Jhagra and Mr Iqbal came to know about Mr Hashmi’s intention, they reached the PML-N Secretariat where Mr Hashmi was about to hold a news conference.

According to sources, Mr Hashmi first refused the requests of Mr Jhagra and Mr Iqbal and showed his determination to go ahead with his plan, however, he decided not to resign after he was contacted by former prime minister Nawaz Sharif and Begum Kulsoom Nawaz on telephone, who convinced him not to take any drastic action as it could further demoralise the party workers and leadership.