PML-N Senator Asif Kirmani has said the party has lost the narrative of vote ko izzat do (respect the vote) and will have to utilise the economic development card for the upcoming general election.

“PML-N failed the vote ko izzat do movement the minute Gen Bajwa’s tenure was extended,” Mr Kirmani, who served as Nawaz Sharif’s political secretary, said in an interview with Voice of America in Islamabad.

“I have assisted Mian Nawaz Sharif for years. He wants to bring a change to the system, and he has his own perspectives. How­ever, unfortunately, the party has some ‘elements’ who have the power to change his opinion,” he claimed.

Mr Kirmani’s remarks came as some senior PML-N leaders — including Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and Miftah Ismail — have grown disgruntled at how they were sidelined by the party during the PDM-led government.

It was not immediately clear what led Mr Kirmani to publicly say the party had lost its key narrative.

PML-N spokesperson Marriyum Aurangzeb offered no comment when Dawn asked her whether Mr Kirmani, like Mr Abbasi and Mr Ismail, had also developed differences with the party.

During the VoA interview, when Mr Kirmani was questioned whether he was suggesting that Nawaz Sharif does not currently hold authority within the party, he explained that during the period when the PDM assumed control of the country, Mr Nawaz had advocated for immediate elections. Unfortun­ately, that did not materialise.

“There are other people in the party who want to do things as per their convenience, hence they go up to Mr Nawaz and convince him to change his decisions,” he said.

Asked whether he believed Maryam Nawaz or Shehbaz Sharif was responsible for the shift in decisions, Mr Kirmani replied that there were other individuals within the party who also played a role in decision-making.

When queried about the changes observed in Mr Nawaz from 2017 to the present, the senator said: “When I used to assist him from 2007-2019, he would provide me with a list of tasks, and those would be executed promptly. However, now, things are influenced by people who are not a part of the party.”

He added, “I and some other leaders are ‘old edition’ of PML-N. Now it has a ‘new edition’.”

Published in Dawn, January 18th, 2024