LAHORE
\nIn a bid to seek a level playing field in the run-up to elections likely to be held in January, PPP leader Asif Ali Zardari has approached the quarters concerned to relay \u2018serious concerns\u2019 expressed by his party, particularly the so-called preferential treatment meted out to the PML-N allegedly by the caretaker governments in Punjab and Centre.
\nOn the other hand, PML-N has endorsed PPP\u2019s demand seeking a level-playing field, with its key leader terming it a fair demand.
\nThe contact with the powers-that-be came almost a month after the central executive committee of the party, including its chairperson Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, expressed reservations over the lack of a level playing field in the lead-up to polls as well as the inclusion of \u2018pro-Sharif men\u2019 in the caretaker federal cabinet.
\nIt had also alleged the caretaker government in Punjab led by Mohsin Naqvi was acting as a \u2018B team\u2019 of PML-N.
\nThe PPP has already expressed its concerns over bids to delay elections \u2014 a stance that has put it at odds with its former allies \u2014 JUI-F and PML-N.
\n\u201cZardari sahib has held some meetings regarding the level playing field and will soon brief the party on it,\u201d PPP senior leader Qamar Zaman Kaira told Dawn on Saturday.
\n\u201cWe will come to know once Zardari sahib takes the party into confidence and before that I can\u2019t comment on the matter further,\u201d he said in response to a question about the outcome of these meetings.
\nThe PPP leaders have also questioned some decisions of the \u2018partisan\u2019 caretaker Punjab Chief Minister Mohsin Naqvi; although Mr Zardari used to call him \u201chis son\u201d.
\n\u201cMohsin Naqvi was not our man. He is with those who had placed him on the chair of the CM,\u201d PPP senior leader Khursheed Shah recently said.
\nMr Shah said since PML-N had at least five (pro-Sharif) members in the federal government, including Fawad Hasan Fawad, Ahad Cheema and Tauqeer Shah, that\u2019s why the PPP was demanding a level playing field from its former ally.<\/p>\n
\u2018Vote ko izzat do\u2019
\nPPP leader Nadeem Afzal Chan voiced similar concerns saying the Sharifs were hiding behind institutions, as it had already abandoned its \u201cvote ko izzat do\u201d (give respect to the ballot) narrative for its \u201cpolitical needs\u201d.
\n\u201cIf a party [PML-N] deviates from its \u2018give respect to the vote\u2019 narrative, the blame cannot be placed on the PPP. A party should not hide behind institutions,\u201d he said, stressing the need for a level playing field for all parties in the upcoming general elections.
\nThe PPP suspects its erstwhile allies PML-N and JUI-F are cosying up to the military establishment to gain power. The PML-N leaders, including Rana Sanaullah, have said the PPP was speaking against the PML-N to save its politics in Punjab.
\nPML-N President Shehbaz Sharif, however, played down the rift between the two parties. \u201cThe PML-N and the PPP have separate politics. I will soon talk to Bilawal Bhutto over free and fair polls, as he is like a younger brother to me,\u201d Mr Shehbaz said on Friday in a talk with journalists in Lahore.<\/p>\n
\u2018Fair demand\u2019
\n\u201cThe PPP has a fair demand for a level playing field in the upcoming polls and we also want the same. The level playing field should be given to every political party,\u201d a close aide to Mr Shehbaz Sharif, Malik Ahmad Khan told Dawn on Sunday.
\nHe said PPP\u2019s apprehensions that the PML-N was being given preferential treatment by the caretaker federal and Punjab governments were not well founded.
\n\u201cThe PPP is alleging that Fawad Hasan Fawad, Ahad Cheema and Tauqeer Shah are the Sharifs\u2019 men, which is not true. They are credible former civil servants and have been inducted into the caretaker federal government for their expertise in their respective fields. They are under oath to protect the Constitution\u2026how can they help the PML-N before and during the polls,\u201d he asked.
\nIt may be noted Tauqeer Shah is currently serving as the secretary to the caretaker prime minister.
\nSimilarly, Mohsin Naqvi had never been a \u201cPML-N man\u201d, he added.
\nTo a question about a number of development projects the caretaker administration initiated in the constituencies of senior PML-N leaders, Mr Khan said that most of them were abandoned by the PTI government. \u201cNone of the development projects are aimed at benefiting the PML-N in polls,\u201d he asserted.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
LAHORE In a bid to seek a level playing field in the run-up to elections likely to be held in January, PPP leader Asif Ali Zardari has approached the quarters concerned to relay \u2018serious concerns\u2019 expressed by his party, particularly the so-called preferential treatment meted out to the PML-N allegedly by the caretaker governments in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-360580","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-top-news"},"yoast_head":"\n