PML-N leader Mian Javed Latif on Sunday claimed that the self-exiled party supremo, Nawaz Sharif, is expected to return to the country after Eid.
He further said that in his opinion the coalition government will not last longer than six months. The PML-N leader said the decision pertaining to Nawaz’s anticipated return will be discussed with the coalition partners and all the decisions would be first brought up with constituent parties of the coalition. Regarding the myriad of problems facing the country, Latif suggested that the only solution to remedy the prevailing woes is to hold fresh elections.
“However, there is this task of election reforms that has to be completed prior to the elections,” he stressed. He pointed out that the issues regarding the electronic voting machines (EVMs) and overseas voting rights were two primary issues that are to be addressed at the earliest. “EVMs are susceptible to external interference and similar to RTS, this system can be tampered with easily. As for overseas Pakistanis, exclusive seats can be created for them to elect their own representative, similar to the seats in Kashmir where seats are reserved for migrants,” Latif said.
The overseas Pakistanis, he added, can be allowed to vote in constituencies as they have no interests attached to their areas. Separately, speaking to a news outlet, PPP’s senior leader Farhatullah Babar assessed it might take at least seven months before the coalition government will be able to proceed toward fresh elections. The time frame, he said, he was giving was based on the time the election commission has sought for preparations for the elections. He said the prevailing crisis in the country certainly required fresh polls.
The PPP leader said that in these few months, political parties will bring in election reforms, which remains their primary challenge. Meanwhile, the spokesperson for Nawaz Sharif, Muhammad Zubair, refrained from making explicit remarks regarding the PML-N supremo’s return, saying “this was a sensitive subject and could not be broached at this stage”. It is pertinent to mention that this is not the first time that whisperings about Nawaz Sharif’s return have surfaced. PML-N leaders, including Javed Latif, have made similar claims before as well. However, with the PTI government ousted, the prospects of Nawaz Sharif’s return to home remain a subject of swirling speculations.
