Maulana Fazlur Rehman never advised Nawaz Sharif to return from the UK, said Wednesday the spokesperson for Jamiat Ulema e Islam – Fazl (JUI-F) following the emergence of alleged fissures within the opposition alliance that caused the scheduled long-march to delay, local media reported.
It is not up to Rehman to counsel Nawaz home return but it is for the doctor to advise when he should be back, said JUI-F’s Aslam Ghori. He added the updates being run on the media attributed to him were baseless and held no truth.
Why are the PMLN and JUIF insisting on resignations when the opposition has made just gains fighting the establishment? Why abandon the parliamentary front?
— Assad Zulfiqar Khan (@pseudorebel) March 17, 2021
We think Pakistan Mulsim League – Nawaz’s (PML-N) chief is not well and thus he needs medical treatment to get better, said Ghori representing party’s narrative.
It’s not hidden from anyone how sick Nawaz Sharif is and his doctors can make a call how long he should remain in the UK and when he should be able to return, he said.
Notably, PPP President Asif Ali Zardari on Tuesday was reported by party sources to have held a lengthy conversation with PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif, during which the latter was repeatedly urged to return to Pakistan if he is truly “ready for a war”.
Zardari further said that all those who are war-ready “must be prepared to go to jail”. The two leaders spoke amid a meeting of the opposition’s Pakistan Democratic Movement alliance which was held to decide on the contentious issue of mass resignations from parliament.
Nawaz Sharif’s reaction to PDM meeting outcome and comments by Asif Ali Zardari pic.twitter.com/AhPmKp9VhT
— Murtaza Ali Shah (@MurtazaViews) March 16, 2021
The matter has put the PPP at loggerheads with PML-N and JUI-F who had been calling to quit since December. The PPP, however, has been convincing them to opt for an in-house change and use the resignation strategy as a “last resort”.
According to the sources, Zardari told Nawaz that “whether it is the long march or a no-confidence motion, you will have to come to Pakistan”. “I am ready for war but my domicile is different […] Mian sahab, you represent Punjab” the sources further quoted Zardari as saying.
Zardari also discussed at length the measures he took during his presidency, the sources said. “I gave powers to the parliament and approved the NFC (National Finance Commission Award) for which my party and I were punished,” he said.
Zardari said that the PPP “is ready to fight until its last breath”, also citing how he had spent 14 years of his life in jail.
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The PPP leader also reportedly questioned how Nawaz plans on solving the people’s problems. “You never increased people’s wages in your tenure, whereas I increased them,” sources quoted Zardari as telling Nawaz.