Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) chief Nawaz Sharif. — File photo

LAHORE: PML-N President Nawaz Sharif is unlikely to meet party stalwart Sardar Zulfiqar Khosa before his trip to Saudi Arabia, as press statements of Khosa’s sons are further souring the relations between the two families.

Senator Khosa resigned as senior adviser to the chief minister and his son and former chief minister Dost Muhammad Khosa quit the party last week in protest against what they called attempts by the Shahbaz Sharif government to malign them.

PML-N top leadership from across the country gathered in the provincial capital on Sunday, but remained indifferent to likely departure of one of the senior most colleagues from the party. Everyone was reluctant to discuss the issue with the eager media men.

Rather, to the surprise of many, they were wishing off the record that the Khosas should say the party goodbye because, according to them, the step would strengthen the party in southern Punjab.

A couple of top leaders said that political rivals of the Khosas in Dera Ghazi Khan were ready to join the PML-N after old Leaguers’ departure.

Amjad Farooq Khosa, a cousin and political rival of Zulfiqar Khosa, met Nawaz Sharif at Raiwind and joined the party. Shahbaz Sharif had held negotiations with Amjad Khosa the other day.

A senior leader said Nawaz Sharif was ready to visit the Khosa house on his return from Murree on Saturday and Chaudhry Nisar and Iqbal Zafar Jhagra had met them separately in this regard, but the allegations levelled by Dost Khosa and Hassam Khosa against Shahbaz and Hamza through the media changed PML-N chief’s mind.

“The acts of Khosa’s sons enabled the lobby against them to convince the party chief that the person of Nawaz and not the lobby was a problem for the party leaders from DG Khan,” a senior leader said.