LAHORE: JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman on Wednesday called on PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif and asked him to support his party’s demand to defer the polls beyond next January. The latter, however, has sought time to consult with his party.

“Maulana Fazl asked Shehbaz to support his demand to defer the polls beyond January as both have to make joint political moves in the current scenario. The PML-N leader, however, told him that he would take up the proposal with the party leadership before giving any commitment,” a source told Dawn after the meeting.

PML-N Secretary General Ahsan Iqbal, Sardar Ayaz Sadiq and Attaullah Tarar also attended the huddle, which took place just hours before PML-N supreme leader Nawaz Sharif landed in Jeddah, in the early hours of Thursday, en route to Pakistan from the UK.

According to party senator Irfan Siddiqui, the elder Sharif will perform Umrah and spend time with his son Hussain Sharif in Saudi Arabia.

Nawaz, who had been in self-imposed exile since 2019, had left for London in the middle of his seven-year jail term on medical grounds. During these four years, he was declared a proclaimed offender in the Al Azizia and Avenfield graft cases for his continuous absence from proceedings.

Ahsan Iqbal says PML-N will go by ECP’s schedule

According to PML-N leaders, the elder Sharif will lead the election campaign after returning to the country.

According to a statement issued by the PML-N after the meeting between Maulana Fazl and Shehbaz Sharif, both leaders discussed ‘free and fair’ elections and overall political situation. “Both agreed to jointly move forward (in their political strategies) and face the challenges together,” it said.

Asked if Shehbaz Sharif had agreed to Maulana Fazl’s proposal to defer polls because of cold weather, Ahsan Iqbal told Dawn that “no such decision has been made”.

Asked if the PML-N wanted the polls in January or some delay to accommodate its ally, Mr Iqbal said: “The PML-N wants polls as per the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) announcement.”

On the occasion, Shehbaz Sharif said the entire 16-month rule of Pakistan Democratic Movement was aimed at saving the state. He said Maulana Fazl had extended full cooperation to save the country from default during the PML-N-led coalition government.

“Unity and collective effort can steer Pakistan out of crises,” he said, adding that the PML-N supremo’s return on Oct 21 would strengthen democracy in the country.

Maulana Fazl said Nawaz was subjected to political victimisation. “This will remain a black chapter of the country’s history,” he said.

The JUI-F chief, who was convener of the PDM that toppled the Imran Khan government through a no-confidence motion and subsequently formed the government in April 2022, drew criticism from PPP when he pointed out that it was not possible to hold general elections in KP and Balochistan in January 2024.

“In January, weather will be harsh in Chitral, Khuzdar, and other parts of KP and Balochistan,” he said.

The ECP had announced that the general elections would be held in the last week of January next year, but did not provide a date. In the run-up to polls, mainstream parties have begun preparations for electoral campaigns. PTI has, however, not been allowed to kick start political activities in the wake of May 9 events.

Taking a dig at former ally’s demand, PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari said the PPP was the “only political party in the country that wanted timely elections and how come so-called political leaders were coming up with excuses to delay polls”.

PPP Information Secretary Faisal Karim Kundi asked Maulana Fazl to tell the people “on whose wish he (Fazl) is making the demand for polls delay”.

Published in Dawn, October 12th, 2023