• Maryam Nawaz said the party contest next elections on their own
• Maryam said the PDM is not an electoral alliance
• Maryam said her homecoming welcome exceeded expectations

ISLAMABAD: PML-N Senior Vice President Maryam Nawaz has said the party will contest the next elections on their own and not the platform of the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM).

The PDM is attempting to convince coalition parties to opt out of the by-elections being held on March 16. PDM chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman has held meetings with PML-N and PPP leadership to skip the by-polls for the National Assembly seats.

In an informal conversation with senior journalists, Maryam Nawaz said the PDM is not an electoral alliance and they will contest the elections separately.

“PDM is not an electoral alliance, we will fight our own elections,” she said, in a response to a question on whether PDM will contest elections as a coalition. She added that the PML-N has already started preparations for the pre-election campaign.

In response to another question about whether Nawaz Sharif has been left alone, she said regrettably that the former prime minister has been left behind and the cases against him are once again gaining momentum.

Maryam Nawaz hailed the reception given by party workers in Islamabad and said that no one will be able to defeat the PML-N in the elections. “Inflation is a reality and we cannot turn a blind eye. The IMF has put a stranglehold on us,” she admitted.

She added that it hurts her to accuse someone, whether true or false, and thus she chooses her words carefully in the Tyrian White case, referring to the disqualification case against former prime minister Imran Khan.

Regarding the remarks made by her husband Captain (retd) Safdar, she said that he will answer for himself. She said Captain Safdar is a free person and can speak his mind.

Maryam was asked if she will woo back “senior uncles” of the party including Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and Sardar Mehtab Abbasi who are distancing themselves from the party.

“All are my seniors including Shahid Khaqan, I don’t like them standing behind me, I will go to everyone,” Maryam Nawaz said. “Shahid Khaqan said that the leadership is being transferred to the new generation. I also don’t accept him standing behind me at once”

Maryam said there is no intention to bring her son Junaid Safdar into politics. She added that she will visit everyone who has reservations over the party policies.

She said the people know who is responsible for the current problems, inflation and economic collapse. She said the nation is still suffering from the incompetence of the previous government. She said Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is focused on fixing governance and getting the country out of the quagmire of problems.

She said the PML-N doesn’t have a strong presence on social media as it does not run on propaganda but rather on practical achievement. “Our volunteers were so efficient that Papa John’s had to crack down on us. PTI recruited keyboard warriors with lakhs of rupees at government expense,” Maryam Nawaz said.

Maryam said they are dealing with rude people and cannot even speak the truth. “Nothing was done for the people and the country, all the attention was on the meeting of the interpreters,” she added.

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