LAHORE, Feb 14: With Senate elections getting closer, the PML-N dusted off Unification Bloc (splinter group of the PML-Q) when president of the party Nawaz Sharif invited its members to his Raiwind residence on Tuesday and assured them to form yet another committee to solve the problems they were facing.

During the meeting, Nawaz Sharif praised the group members by reminding them how they had stood behind the party during the Governor's Rule in the province and help brought the PML-N government back in power. "The PML-N has neither forgotten, nor it would, sacrifices rendered by the group for the party," he said.

The entire group went into virtual hiding after the meeting, with all its leading members switching their cell phones off and their residence telephones going unattended. "The group is under pressure, as it has nowhere to go," says a PML-N insider. The group was told to keep its mouth shut because tall claims by its members in the past made things difficult for the PML-N and the group.

Some of the members even announced ministries for themselves, providing ammunition to the opposition to play up "turncoat" politics, putting the PML-N on defensive. The party had no option, but to back off.

The group had nowhere to go, as it had offended the parent party and opposed the PPP in its fight against the PML-N.

With general elections expected to take place this year, the group wants its share in development schemes, which would now be launched with political and fiscal ferocity. "The party understands political stakes of the group and is ready to accommodate it," he said. - Staff Reporter