Amid intra-party rifts, Sanaullah says PML-N to issue final list of candidates today or tomorrow

• PML-N to hold 60 rallies across country, says Sanaullah. 
• Says Nawaz to address public gatherings in 12-15 divisions.
• Aisha Ghaus Pasha decides to sit out of elections. 

LAHORE/ISLAMABAD: Amid reports of rifts over tickets, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Rana Sanaullah Khan shared on Wednesday that the party has finalised its candidates and would issue the final list by today evening or tomorrow.

“Work has been done on tickets, we will issue the list today evening or tomorrow,” Sanaullah said during an appearance on Geo News show "Geo Pakistan". He also confirmed that the PML-N’s seat adjustment talks with Jahangir Tareen-led Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party (IPP) have been finalised.

Earlier, The News had reported citing sources that negotiations between the PML-N and the IPP were ongoing for some time but the deadlock in talks persisted as the latter was demanding more seats than the former could offer.

They said the PML-N had now agreed to accommodate IPP on seven National Assembly and 11 provincial assembly seats, against the IPP’s demand for 13 NA seats and 22 provincial seats.

Sanuallah, in the interview, also shared that PML-N has also agreed on seat adjustment with PML-Quaid in Gujrat and Bahawalpur.

PML-N to hold 60 rallies across country

Meanwhile, Sanaullah confirmed that Nawaz Sharif will lead the party’s election campaign and will start his public gatherings from January 17 and would hold rallies in 12-15 divisions. He also shared that Maryam and Shehbaz Sharif will start their election rallies from January 15 onwards.

The PML-N leader also shared that Hamza Shahbaz will hold rallies in some districts of Punjab including Lahore.

“PML-N will hold 60 rallies in the country,” said Sanaullah while sharing details of the party’s electioneering campaign.

PML-N yet to resolve rifts over party tickets

Earlier today, The News had reported that the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) was holding back its final list of candidates as rifts among ticket aspirants are yet to be resolved.

According to the publication, the most recent rift has emerged from Balochistan where PML-N ticket aspirant from NA-258 (Panjgur) Dr Muhammad Ayub Baloch has accused the party preferring an electable over him.

Baloch, in a press conference, accused the provincial leadership of prioritising a local leader who had no connection with the party. He also claimed that he was initially issued the party ticket and had started his election campaign.

Dr Baloch appealed to the party leadership to immediately intervene and solve the problem.

In Lahore, the candidates for the PML-N ticket from PP-171 (Lahore) have also come face-to-face.

PML-N leader Khawaja Ahmed Hassan and Mian Sahib Ghani were hoping to get the party ticket and were both campaigning in the constituency. 

PML-N Secretary Information Marriyum Aurangzeb told The News that the party is yet to issue tickets for any constituency in Punjab. She said the party would announce the final names soon.

Furthermore, a meeting of the core committee of the party’s minority wing of Punjab was held at the PML-N Central Secretariat in Model Town. Minority wing officials, party ticketholders and ticket holders of reserved seats for women attended the meeting.

Aisha Ghaus Pasha to sit out 

Interestingly, former state minister for finance Dr Aisha Ghaus Pasha’s name has not been included in the list of those who have been awarded tickets on reserved women’s seats.

Sources confirmed to The News that Dr Pasha did not apply for the ticket because she had a hard time in giving her professional viewpoint during her last stint in office. As state minister Dr Pasha also held divergent views from former finance minister Ishaq Dar on the resumption of the stalled International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme from October 2022 to June 2023.

As a professional and technocrat, she felt space was not being provided to give her input on key economic issues. She had applied for a long leave and had hinted that she may not come back as state minister because of personal engagements.

However, she returned and convinced the-then prime minister Shehbaz Sharif to resume the IMF programme after which both sides struck an agreement to sign of new short-term bailout package under $3 billion SBA program.

It was Dr Aisha Ghaus Pasha who had pushed Shehbaz to approached the IMF managing director and then scheduled their meeting on the sidelines of the flood donor pledges conference in Paris.

When contacted, Dr Pasha refused to talk on the subject.

Now, former special assistant on finance Tariq Bajwa is considered closer to the PML-N and if the party comes back to power then he could be given a key post at the federal level.