ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi has said that the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s (PML-N) parliamentary board is the body which decides on distribution of party tickets for elections.
According to a statement from the PM House, the decision to give out party tickets are taken after a process of consultation.
Abbasi, in an interview earlier, had also said that the PML-N’s parliamentary board is the relevant forum for issuing party tickets and it is not a one-man decision.
The statements come in the wake of the recent statement of senior PML-N leader Senator Pervaiz Rasheed against disgruntled party leader Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan.
According to media reports, Rasheed had said the party will not give a ticket to Nisar as his beliefs are not in consonance with the party’s present policy.
Nisar publicly came out against Nawaz’s daughter, Maryam, stating that her ‘sharp tongue’ is pushing the party towards a dead end.
Nisar, who has been associated with the PML-N for over three decades, was reacting to earlier statements by party supremo Nawaz Sharif and his daughter.
The falling out
Rumours of a rift between Nisar and Nawaz have been rife after the former took an opposing stance on the party’s political strategy following the Supreme Court’s July 28 verdict that ousted Nawaz from holding public office.
Until recently, the two leaders have refrained from discussing the changing dynamics of their relationship with the media.
Nisar had opted out of Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi’s cabinet. Frequent reports of rifts within the party have surfaced since after Nisar’s decision, with the former minister often going against his party’s stance.