Hamza and I have difference of opinion but Nawaz leads PML-N: Maryam

• Maryam says "there is nothing to worry about differences in the party”.
  
• Says the party became victorious when it contested in the elections while keeping the differences aside.
• Says British court's verdict has “shut [opponents'] mouths”.

PML-N Vice-President Maryam Nawaz said Tuesday that she and Hamza Shahbaz have a difference of opinion but Nawaz Sharif is the leader of PML-N and he is the one who takes the party forward.

While addressing the party’s Rawalpindi division meeting, Maryam said that “lively parties have differences, so there is nothing to worry about that”.

Several senior PML-N leaders, including Rana Sanaullah, Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, and Ahsan Iqbal also attended the meeting. Maryam said that all party members "share our opinions but when Nawaz makes a decision, everyone — including Shahbaz, myself, and Hamza — have to support it.

“Wherever there are differences in the party, the rivals will succeed in their attacks,” she said, adding that a loss of the party is a loss of everyone affiliated with it.

"Free and fair election is only possible if the entire party stands in Nawaz’s support," she said. “We became victorious when we contested in the elections while keeping the differences aside".

Maryam's comments came after Leader of the Opposition in the Punjab Assembly Hamza Shahbaz had negated her stance on extension voting on Sunday, saying that: “There is no ambiguity on the issue of voting in the parliament for the extension of the army chief’s tenure. It was a decision of the party leadership”.As reported by Dawn.com. Maryam had said she "felt vindicated as she was not part of the legislation that allowed extension in the tenure of the chief of the army staff."

'PML-N bagged a great victory in Cantonment Board polls'

In her address, Maryam also talked about the party's win in the Nowshera Cantonment Board Election 2021, an area that is considered a stronghold of PTI followers.

She maintained that "tactics even worse than those used by authoritarian regimes" were employed by the government in the polls but "PML-N bagged a great victory."

She further claimed that PTI gets votes from its MPAs by force. “What else could be a bigger punishment than that."

She said that PTI had to work "too hard" to defeat PML-N in Karachi. “They have to win the election by becoming disreputable,” she said.

'Karma is the biggest principle in life'

Maryam went on to say that PML-N does not believe in taking revenge because “karma is the biggest principle in life."

She said that she believes in two life lessons. “First, circumstances and time never remain the same. Second, you will reap what you sow,” she said, adding that reward and punishment are not reserved just for the doomsday because life itself ultimately teaches people a lesson. 

'British court's verdict has shut [opponents'] mouths'

Referring to the British court’s verdict in the favour of Shahbaz Sharif and his son Suleman, Maryam said that the party has become successful once again.

Maryam said that the decision of the British court has “shut their [opponents'] mouths” and the government is unable to understand what to do now.

“How would people know the difference between the truth and the lie if fake cases hadn’t been created to trap us,” she questioned. 

Rana Sanaullah says 'big day for us to get proof for our innocence'

Meanwhile, PML-N leader Rana Sanaullah, while sharing his views on the British court’s verdict during the meeting, said that "first, the courts in Pakistan bore witness to PML-N's innocence and now the British court has also issued a verdict in favour of our innocence."

He said that the UK's National Crime Agency (NCA) — that probed the bank accounts of Shahbaz Sharif and his son Suleman Shahbaz — is an international agency and no one in the world matches their standard of investigation.

“It is a big day for us to get proof of our innocence from the British court,” he said.

Sanaullah further stated that a group of “thugs” was repeatedly telling PML-N about the achievements of the NCA.

“They repeatedly launched institutional campaigns against us but we are proud that we always stand on the right side of the history,” said Sanaullah.