Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) vice-president Maryam Nawaz has claimed that the ‘establishment‘ has contacted individuals near to her for dialogue, however, she has not been contacted directly. In an interview with the British news channel, the PML-N supremo’s daughter clarified that she was not against state institutions, however, it is her belief that if the country has to move forward, the incumbent government needs to be sent packing.
Maryam is currently in Gilgit-Baltistan campaigning for the upcoming polls. Referring to her claim of the establishment contacting those around her, she said: “We would talk but within the ambit of the Constitution” and added that the platform of Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) can deliberate over the start of a dialogue with the Army if the government is “sent home”.
The PML-N leader said the politics of PML-N was not heading “towards a dead end. Wherever we go now, the only narrative that echoes is to ‘respect the vote’ and ‘not making a state above the state'”.
Referring to the ‘Karachi incident’ report Maryam said it was not the job of the institutions to act according to public sentiment, rather it is the job of the government to do so according to the Constitution.
The report of the incident was dismissed by the party’s leadership. Nawaz Sharif, who is in London for medical treatment since last year. He said the findings of the inquiry into the arrest of Safdar, his son-in-law; were an attempt to “scapegoating juniors and shielding the real culprits”. “Inquiry report on Karachi incident is a cover-up scapegoating juniors & shielding the real culprits. Report ‘Rejected’,” he tweeted from his official handle.
“The job of the institutions is to carry out their professional duties, not to display their emotions,” said Maryam. She added that the statement released by the Army did not provide answers to the people, rather more questions emerged. Continuing her criticism of the incumbent prime minister and the government, the PML-N leader stated that if the country is to be steered out of the current crisis, then “Imran will need to go home”.
On Wednesday, Maryam and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari held a one-on-one meeting in Gilgit-Baltistan (G-B). According to the PPP media cell; the meeting between the two leaders was held at a local hotel in Nagar Khas. During which matters related to the current political scenario were discussed. Both leaders stayed in the same hotel following the day-long activities for G-B polls. The election scheduled to be held on November 15.
After the one-on-one meeting, another meeting took place between the leaders of the two parties.