ISLAMABAD: With nearly all political parties gearing up for general elections, the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) has decided to re-strengthen itself and invited all disgruntled party leaders to attend the Central Executive Committee (CEC) meeting in Lahore on Thursday.

Two of the party’s central leaders — lawyers Sardar Latif Khosa and Aitzaz Ahsan — have been at odds with the party leadership over their proximity and support to former prime minister Imran Khan during his legal troubles.

Both leaders were also invited to the previous CEC meeting as well. While Mr Ahsan attended that sitting, Mr Khosa chose to stay away.

Talking to Dawn, a senior PPP leader said Mr Khosa and Mr Ahsan have been invited to the CEC meeting which will be held on Sept 14.

Both leaders have been at odds with party leadership over proximity to PTI chief Imran Khan

Earlier, Mr Khosa was also served a show cause notice for giving a statement in favour of the incarcerated PTI chairman, but the PPP leaders told Dawn the veteran lawyer was still a CEC member.

Although he has been invited, it is unlikely that Mr Khosa would attend the meeting. “We have received an invitation but will not attend the meeting as we will be busy in court cases,” Mr Khosa’s son Khurram Khosa, who is also a lawyer, told Dawn.

Mr Khosa was not available to comment. “We are professional lawyers and our priority is our cases,” Mr Khurram added.

It was unclear whether Mr Ahsan would attend the meeting or not although he did attend the party’s previous CEC meeting held on August 25.

According to a PPP leader, Mr Ahsan wanted to take part in the last meeting through a videolink but the party’s chair­man, Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari insisted he join in person if he wanted to attend the meeting.

Meeting’s timing

The meeting, which as per the party, would discuss the overall political situation and next general elections, is taking place at a time when allies in the previous PDM coalition seemed to be drifting apart.

PML-N and PPP have ostensibly par­ted ways as they entered the polls mode.

On Tuesday, PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif also confirmed that he will return on Oct 21, making the timing of the PPP’s CEC even more interesting.

Mr Bhutto-Zardari has also indirectly blamed Mr Sharif for getting undue favours, saying that a level playing field was not being given to all parties only for “one person”.

There have also been concerns over the increasing numbers of PML-N confidants in the caretaker cabinet. On Tues­day, Fawad Hassan Fawad, the principal secretary of former PM Nawaz, was included in the federal cabinet.

Three other PML-N confidants — Dr Tauqir Shah, the principal secretary to PM Shehbaz; Ahad Cheema; and Jawad Sohrab Malik — were already part of the cabinet.

Reconciliation

The PPP was also grappling with internal disagreements as Mr Bhutto-Zardari was not fully in support of his father’s stance on the election date.

In a recent comment, Mr Bhutto-Zardari confirmed there was disagreement and they will seek to reconcile it in the CEC meeting — the second such moot in less than 20 days.

The meeting last month was co-chaired by Mr Bhutto-Zardari and his father Asif Ali Zardari and demanded the holding of elections in 90 days since the dissolution of the National Assembly.

However, Mr Zardari apparently went against the party’s line and issued a statement after the meeting supporting the point of view of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) that elections should be held after completion of delimitation of constituencies on the basis of new digital census 2023.

On Sept 9, Mr Bhutto-Zardari publicly disowned his father’s statement favouring a delay in elections due to fresh delimitations.

“Anyone having objections to party policy should raise it at the relevant forum. We have a CEC meeting in Lahore in a few days. If anyone has this opinion, they should share it there.”

“I can only say that it was the party’s decision [to demand elections within 90 days]. We both jointly chaired the CEC meeting where our legal experts were sure that the Constitution dema­nds elections within 90 days.”

It was for the first time the differences between the father and the son spilled out in the open. However, PPP sources have told Dawn the disagreement between them had been witnessed in previous party meetings as well.

Published in Dawn, September 13th, 2023