President Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Shahbaz Sharif has constituted two separate committees to look into upcoming by-elections in Islamabad and Rawalpindi, it was learnt. Shahbaz Sharif, who is also Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly, on Friday chaired the party meeting. The members of the National Assembly, members of provincial Assembly and local leadership of the party of Islamabad and Rawalpindi participated in the meeting.
According to sources, Shahbaz has constituted two separate committees consisting of women and men in connection with forthcoming by-elections and for resolving differences among the party workers at local level in Islamabad and Rawalpindi.
They said that the party candidates were defeated in general election 2018 in Islamabad and Rawalpindi due to rigging and differences among the party workers at local level in spite of major developmental works of the PML-N government in Rawalpindi Division.
The sources said that the meeting also discussed the strategy for coming by-elections on October 14 and plan to stop rigging on the election day. Shahbaz said that the party workers should shun their differences and work together to focus on by-elections.
He also asked them to contact local people at grassroots level and highlight issue of new taxes, increasing prices of gas, electricity and petroleum products, as proposed in mini budget, and inflation in the country.
They said that the meeting also decided to constitute committees across the country to resolve the differences and conflicts among the local leadership of the party before the polls. The meeting would also devise a strategy to vigorously contest the upcoming by-poll across the country. The party MPs would be tasked to join campaigns of party candidates contesting the by-polls, particularly in Punjab.
After the meeting, when asked about the output of the party meeting and use of Committee Room no. 2 of the Parliament for a meeting of local leadership and party workers, PML-N leader Tahira Aurangzeb told the media persons that the business community of Islamabad and Rawalpindi also met with Shahbaz Sharif.