ISLAMABAD, Jan 4: The Pakistan Muslim League-N gave on Tuesday six days to the beleaguered Pakistan People’s Party government to agree to a 10-point ‘reforms agenda’ for implementation if it wanted the opposition to help it ride over the raging crisis.

“If the prime minister says no (to our offer) then we will be forced to remove them (PPP) from the Punjab government,” PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif declared at a press conference after discussing with senior members of his party the political crisis gripping the country for a fortnight.

“Our party has decided to give three days’ time to the prime minister to respond. We are waiting for a ‘yes’ or a ‘no’ reply,” Mr Sharif said.

The deadline was later extended to six days after the PPP announced a three-day mourning for its slain governor Salman Taseer.

PML-N leaders were informed about the tragic news during the media briefing at the Punjab House.

Sources told Dawn that during the meeting of the Central Organising Committee, a number of leaders expressed the opinion that the party’s image was being tarnished because of its alliance with the PPP in Punjab. They said the party was being criticised by the common man for being in opposition at the centre and at the same time working with the PPP in the province.

They said the party should be ready to face confrontation with the faltering PPP, which was struggling to maintain its hold at the centre after the Muttahida Qaumi Movement and the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-F quit the ruling coalition.

A PML-N spokesman told Dawn that the meeting had decided that Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif would sack ministers belonging to the PPP. He said the party was ready to face any eventuality after the action. The ‘reforms agenda’ mostly comprises PML-N’s old demands, including removal of ministers allegedly involved in corruption, setting up of an independent accountability commission, implementation of the Supreme Court’s judgment on the National Reconciliation Ordinance and reduction in the size of the cabinet. “If the PPP says ‘yes’, then it will have another 45 days to show progress (on implementation of the agenda). We will wait till February 20 to see the seriousness of the government,” Mr Sharif said, adding that after this the party would finalise its next strategy.

In the event of the PPP not accepting the agenda, Mr Sharif said, the PML-N would have no option but to push the PPP out of the Punjab government and contact other opposition parties to seek their support for implementation of the agenda.

Mr Sharif also announced the setting up of a three-member committee to coordinate with the government if it showed willingness to implement the agenda. The names of members of the committee would be announced later, he said.

Mr Sharif urged other opposition parties to support the PML-N in implementing the agenda which he said was the only way to steer the country out of the present quagmire.

Mr Sharif ruled out any possibility of moving a no-confidence motion against the prime minister, saying that he would not like to promote horse-trading. He also said that merely changing the prime minister would serve no purpose if the next premier also took dictations from the president.

The PML-N chief also hinted at pushing the government to mid-term elections by saying that if his party failed to get support for its agenda from any side, “we will have to adopt the way which will lead to the formation of a strong government”.

He urged the government to immediately withdraw the recent increase in oil prices and devise a new pricing mechanism to save the nation from the effects of change in prices in the international market. He also asked the government to formulate a strategy to end the energy crisis.

The PML-N chief called for removal of ministers, bureaucrats and heads of autonomous bodies and corporations who were involved in corruption and their replacement with competent and capable people.

The reforms agenda includes the demand for setting up an independent accountability commission and reconstitution of the election commission to make it independent and impartial.

The PML-N also wants at least 30 per cent reduction in government’s expenditures and measures to reduce prices of essential commodities to provide relief to the masses. It wants the prime minister to implement the SC verdict on the NRO in letter and spirit and reduce the size of the federal cabinet.

Moreover, the party desires to see behind the bar all those involved in the sugar and Agosta submarine scams and a thorough probe into embezzlement and fraud in institutions like the National Logistic Cell, Pakistan Steel Mills and the Bank of Punjab. The PML-N wants the PPP government to initiate action against people who got their loans written off and bring the amount back to the national exchequer.