LAHORE: PML-N Senator Nihal Hashmi is “adamant” on not tendering his resignation to vacate his Senate seat until the party leader, Nawaz Sharif, gives him a patient hearing, though for a couple of minutes, to let him explain the background of his controversial speech allegedly threatening the Supreme Court for hearing Panama Papers case.

Immediately after the speech surfaced in the social media and the Supreme Court took a notice of it, the PML-N leadership distanced itself from Mr Hashmi’s utterances and asked him to resign as a senator to show its displeasure at his act.

Though Mr Hashmi did tender his resignation accordingly, he didn’t endorse it by appearing in person before Senate Chairman Mian Raza Rabbani.

He made many abortive attempts to call on Nawaz Sharif, who was then the prime minister, and explain context of his tirade he resorted to during a party meeting in Karachi.

The last such attempt was made when the former premier shifted to the Punjab House after vacating the Prime Minister House on Friday evening, an official of the Punjab House said.

Mr Hashmi, however, denied this saying he had given up all his political activities for the time being and was just taking care of his social and professional (as a lawyer) engagements.

He would not respond when asked if he had made up his mind about resigning from the Senate seat as per the party leadership’s direction after all his attempts to explain context of his speech to the PML-N leaders remained futile.

Published in Dawn, July 31st, 2017