Opp parties in disarray as PPP rescinds support for Shehbaz Sharif
The Bilawal Bhutto Zardari-led party said it had reservations over Shehbaz Sharif's candidacy and requested the nominee be changed, which the PML-N refused
August 16, 2018
ISLAMABAD: The Opposition alliance seems to be struggling after the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) on Wednesday expressed its reservation towards the name put forward for the Prime Ministership.
The Bilawal Bhutto Zardari-led party said it had reservations over the candidacy of Shehbaz Sharif, the president of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and requested the nominee be changed.
However, the Sharifs' party retorted that it would not be revising the name for the PMship.
"If the PML-N's decisions are to be made by [PPP chairperson] Bilawal, then the PPP should leave its decisions to Shehbaz Sharif," it said.
Consequently, the vote for the former chief minister of Punjab is now on tenterhooks, with the PPP itself divided in terms of viewpoints, something that Nafisa Shah, a member of the party, acknowledged in Geo News' programme Capital Talk.
"No final decision has been made yet as to whether to vote for Shehbaz Sharif," Shah commented, adding that there were different points of view even inside her own party.
Nevertheless, both Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan and Sharif have submitted their nomination papers ahead of the prime minister's elections. In the former's case, the documents mention Awami Muslim League (AML) head Sheikh Rasheed as the advisor with Fakhar Imam the supporter.
It is expected that the leader of the house will be selected during the National Assembly session on August 17, and thereafter, on August 18, President Mamnoon Hussain will take oath from the new premier in the President House.
