LAHORE: “Non-serious attitude” of Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif to take up the demand of former PML-N Senator Pir Hameeduddin Sialvi has forced him to sever relations with the party and announce a protest rally on Dec 10 in Faisalabad, says a PML-N legislator.

“Sialvi Sahib thinks that the chief minister did not bother to heed his demand of Law Minister Rana Sanaullah’s resignation, therefore, he has announced parting with the PML-N and a Namoos-i-Risalat rally in Faisalabad on Dec 10,” Parliamentary Secretary in Punjab Assembly Sahibzada Ghulam Nizamuddin Sialvi told Dawn on Thursday.

He said the chief minister had promised to visit Pir Sialvi on the matter of Mr Sanaullah’s resignation but he did not turn up.

Shahbaz on Dec 3 had contacted Pir Sialvi, the caretaker of the Sial Sharif shrine in Sargodha, and assured him of addressing his reservations regarding the remarks the law minister had made about a religious minority in a TV talk show.

“I will personally look into the matter and the exercise requires a reasonable time-frame,” the chief minister had said.

Sahibzada Ghulam Sialvi, nephew of Pir Sialvi, said: “No one from the PML-N has contacted the Pir Sahib so far to tell him why the CM could not visit him.”

Pir Sialvi had claimed that 14 parliamentarians had submitted their resignations to him to show their support for the demand for Rana Sana’s removal.

Rana Sanaullah told journalists on Thursday the government was ready to give a clarification on the matter to Pir Sialvi but it would not compromise on the issue of his resignation. “We will see whether he (Sialvi) has resignations of 14 legislators on Dec 10,” Sanaullah said.

Published in Dawn, December 8th, 2017