Shehbaz Sharif likely to be elected PML-N president: sources
February 22, 2018
ISLAMABAD: Chief Minister Punjab Shehbaz Sharif is likely to be elected the president of Pakistan Muslim League-N after Nawaz Sharif was disqualified by the Supreme Court on Wednesday.
According to sources, senior party leaders at a high-level PML-N meeting held at Punjab House recommended to make Shehbaz the president as he is a non-controversial and influential person.
Deposed party president Nawaz Sharif asked leaders from all provinces for recommendations, who unanimously agreed that Shehbaz’s performance has been excellent.
The meeting also said that Shehbaz’s appointment as president will help improve the strained ties between state institutions, sources added.
Final decision of the appointment will be taken by Nawaz and will be approved by the Central Executive Committee.
The PML-N had in a meeting last year decided Shehbaz's name for prime minister in case of victory in general elections.
The Supreme Court of Pakistan on Wednesday announced its verdict on petitions challenging the Elections Act 2017, ruling that a person disqualified under Article 62 and 63 cannot serve as the head of a political party.
The decision by the three-member bench headed by Chief Justice Saqib Nisar is considered another blow to the ruling Pakistan Muslim League–Nawaz (PML-N) as Nawaz Sharif will no longer remain the party’s president. As a result of the verdict, all decisions taken by Nawaz Sharif as PML-N’s president stand null and void.
