ISLAMABAD: The deseating of a third Pakistan Muslim League-N MNA in a row has forced the ruling party to reconsider its earlier decision of challenging judgments of election tribunals in the Supreme Court.

Sources in the party told Dawn that after Wednesday’s decision of an election tribunal deseating PML-N’s Siddique Baloch (NA-154, Lodhran) on a petition of PTI’s Jahangir Tareen, the party leadership had now started weighing the option of going into re-elections in all the three constituencies, instead of filing appeals in the Supreme Court.

Earlier, two tribunals in Lahore had declared the election of Railways Minister Khwaja Saad Rafiq (NA-125) and National Assembly speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq (NA-122) as null and void.

The tribunals also ordered re-polling in the three constituencies.

While Mr Rafiq had filed an appeal in the apex court which stayed the implementation of the tribunal’s verdict, Ayaz Sadiq is yet to approach the SC.

The sources said the former speaker had prepared the appeal with the help of his legal team on Tuesday but was asked by the party leadership to wait till the outcome of the tribunal’s decision in the Lodhran constituency case.

They said another meeting of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif with his kitchen cabinet was expected on Thursday morning after which a formal decision on the matter would be announced.

Soon after the last week’s decision of the tribunal against Mr Sadiq, the prime minister and members of his cabinet had officially announced that the former speaker would file an appeal and the party would adopt a legal path.

The sources said that soon after his return from Kazakhstan, Prime Minister Sharif called some of his close aides for an informal meeting and held consultations on the situation arising out of Siddique Baloch’s deseating.

However, there was no official confirmation of the meeting held at the Prime Minister’s House.

Information Minister Pervaiz Rashid, who also had said that Mr Sadiq would file an appeal in the Supreme Court, confirmed on Wednesday that the PML-N was rethinking its plan.

Also read: Election tribunal orders re-election in NA-154, deseats PML-N lawmaker

The state-run news agency quoted the information minister as telling a private TV channel that the party leadership would hold consultations to chalk out a strategy vis-à-vis election tribunals’ verdicts.

He said the PTI had a tradition of “fleeing” from elections, but now they would not let it escape. Mr Rashid said PTI Secretary General Jehangir Tareen had been defeated by an independent candidate in the 2013 general election and now he (Mr Tareen) would meet the same fate in re-polling in which a PML-N nominee would face him.

His statement, clearly indicating a shift in the ruling party’s strategy, prompted some TV channels to report that the government had finally decided to contest by-elections in the three constituencies.

Sardar Ayaz Sadiq had said in a TV interview that he was willing to contest a by-election, adding that being a politician he was never afraid of going into elections. “You cannot keep a fish out of water for a longer period,” he said in a satirical manner.

The sources said that some ‘saner elements’ in the PML-N had advised the leadership to go into re-polling fearing that the party might lose some political grounds if the Supreme Court upheld the tribunals’ decisions.

Moreover, they believed that it would be difficult for Mr Sadiq to run the house after becoming a controversial figure because his presence in the assembly could provide an opportunity to the opponents to exploit the situation.

They were of the opinion that after winning the seats in the by-elections, the PML-N leaders would become clean and non-controversial and it would also end the “PTI’s propaganda” about its popularity.

Published in Dawn, August 27th, 2015

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