ISLAMABAD: It seems as if the grip of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President Shehbaz Sharif’s over the party affairs is getting stronger as Maryam Nawaz was barred from attending the Swat rally organised on Sunday by the opposition alliance of Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM).
According to well-placed sources in the PML-N, former premier Nawaz Sharif barred his daughter and party Vice-President Maryam from attending the rally of the opposition alliance PDM in Swat.
It was PDMs first rally in three months after suffering internal differences. There was a strong possibility of Maryam’s participation in the meeting, but the PML-N vice president was not allowed to attend the meeting and she is not likely to attend any such rally anytime soon in the future.
According to the sources, Maryam was scheduled to attend the scheduled meeting in Swat, but she was replaced by party President Shehbaz.
According to the sources, Nawaz’s decision seems to have given the impression that Shahbaz Sharif has managed to strengthen his grip on the party’s decision-making process.
Meanwhile, the PML-N workers are also surprised at the decision of barring Maryam from Swat rally.
The sources said that the decision is also a huge blow for PDM chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman who is unhappy with Shehbaz for his close relationship with the leadership of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP).
Fazl believes that the PPPs decision for not joining the resignations of PDM lawmakers from the parliament is the biggest blow to his political career and a relief for Prime Minister Imran Khan, the sources said.
According to sources, Maryam was barred from attending the rally but on the other hand she has been directed to run PML-N election campaign for Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) elections.
A few days ago, Nawaz had instructed Maryam to reach AJK and run the PML-N election campaign. However, now that she has been barred from participating in the PDMs Swat rally, her participation in the Azad Kashmir election campaign also looks doubtful.
It should be noted here that after his release, the political activities of PML-N President Shehbaz increased significantly, while the party’s core group loyal to Nawaz’s daughter Maryam, who has always led the charge against the government, has been silent for several weeks. In all these circumstances, the PML-N workers are uncertain about party’s future course of action.
