PM Shehbaz summons party meeting after crushing defeat

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif called a high-level meeting of the party today (Monday) after receiving a crushing defeat in the Punjab by-polls.

Punjab Chief Minister Hamza Shehbaz along with senior leaders will participate in the meeting. The meeting will be held in Lahore and the prime minister will reach from Islamabad in the evening.

PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif has also decided to take the allied parties into confidence on the situation. In this regard, a consultative meeting with allies is expected in Islamabad tomorrow to mull the future of the coalition government.

A decision will also be taken regarding resignation of Hamza Shehbaz as chief minister after he lost the majority in the Punjab Assembly, The meeting will also ponder over the reasons for the defeat in the by-election.

The prime minister has also postponed his visit to Tank, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where he was expected to provide relief items to rain victims.

Pakistan peoples Party Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has called the party’s senior leaders meeting on Monday (today) in the aftermath of the historic victory of the PTI. The meeting will discuss the newly emerging political scenario in the country and future strategy.

PPP senior leader Qamar Zaman Kaira said the PPP accepts and welcomes the PTI’s victory. He said that his party had no hesitation to acknowledge that the people have accepted the narrative of Imran Khan and rejected the PML-N-led government’s policy, causing unbearable inflation in the country.

He further said that they were ready for political negotiations with Imran Khan but he (Imran) was willing to sit with the other political parties. He maintained that Imran Khan should not adopt a confrontation policy as it is not only harmful for him but also for the country.

PTI has won 15 seats of the Punjab Assembly in by-elections held in 20 constituencies of the province. According to unofficial results, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) obtained four seats while one seat was won by an independent candidate.

After the results were announced, the PML-N conceded defeat in the crucial by-elections. PML-N Vice President Maryam Nawaz took to Twitter and said that the defeat should be accepted with an open heart.

“The PML-N should accept the results of the by-polls with an open heart and concede to the decision of the masses,” Maryam wrote.

She added that winning and losing were part of politics and the party should now focus on its weaknesses and overcome them.  “God willing, everything will be fine,” she said.

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