ISLAMABAD: Known as a troubleshooter in devious situations, Maulana Fazlur Rehman is said to have advised Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to keep the option of stepping down open.
The chief of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) argued that a brief respite would enable him normalize the tumultuous circumstances, triggered by revelations made by the Panama Papers.
Sources told Daily Times that JUI-F chief conveyed his suggestion to the prime minister in a meeting held in London before his open-heart surgery. The prime minister listened to him patiently but did not let Maulana read his mind.
The prime minister, however, asked whom would the JUI-F chief suggest as interim prime minister. To prime minister’s surprise, Maualna suggested the name of Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan as a replacement.
Sources said the prime minister promised to think over his advice, while requesting Fazl to play his role in neutralizing the joint opposition’s attacks. Later, media reports claimed Maulana had held a meeting with former president Asif Ali Zardari. However, both denied having met in London. Sources said a former senator and a very close aide of the former president was instrumental in arranging that meeting. Whether the meeting took place or not, the JUI-F leader was told that the Pakistan People’s Party could not take a U-turn from its stated position on Panama leaks. Maulana then requested his PPP friends to at least slow down the process.
Upon his return, Maulana called on Awami National Party (ANP) chief Asfadyar Wali. Both PPP and the ANP are comparatively less aggressive than Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaaf (PTI) on the issue.
Sources said Maulana would continue to woo the PPP and the ANP to sever their alliance with the PTI. In that scenario, the PTI might hit the streets again after Eid, creating a situation similar to that in 2014. Recovering fast in a temperate climate of London, the prime minister may shrug off the demands of resignation from his detractors, yet he cannot brush aside too easily if same thing is requested by his friends and allies.
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