Shehbaz to be PML-N president after ECP directs Nawaz to step down: report

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Pakistan Muslim League - Nawaz (PML-N) Chairman Senator Raja Zafarul Haq on Tuesday said the formal announcement to elect Shehbaz Sharif as party president will be made in a day or two.

“Shehbaz Sharif has been selected to replace Nawaz based on the wishes of a majority of party members,” Haq said in an interview to BBC Urdu.

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) had issued a notice to the PML-N early Tuesday for the appointment of a new party leader.

ECP directs PML-N to appoint new party president: sources

Nawaz Sharif cannot hold position as PML-N president after disqualification from National Assembly

In the notice, the ECP said that as per the Political Parties Order 2002, a disqualified lawmaker could not hold any office in a political party. It further referred to the Supreme Court order on the Panam Papers case, which asked Nawaz Sharif to step down as prime minister.

Article 15 of the PML-N's party Constitution says that if the seat of party president is vacant, it is to be filled within one week's time, the ECP's notice observed.

The ECP asked to be informed after the party had elected a new president.

Shortly after the ECP's notification was issued, the PML-N held a high-level meeting of senior party members, including Finance Minister Ishaq Dar and former interior minister Chaudhry Nisar.