PML-N's Zubair confirms Abbasi's resignation from party post despite spokesperson's claim to contrary

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PML-N's Zubair confirms Abbasi's resignation from party post despite spokesperson's claim to contrary​

Nadir Guramani Published February 1, 2023 Updated about an hour ago

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Former Sindh governor and PML-N leader Muhammad Zubair on Wednesday said that party's Senior Vice-President Shahid Khaqan Abbasi had resigned from the party position, despite Abbasi's spokesperson issuing a denial earlier in the day and deeming media reports to the contrary "baseless".
According to a story published in The News, Abbasi said on Tuesday that he had "stepped down from the party office within an hour of the announcement" of Maryam Nawaz's elevation to the roles of senior vice president and chief organiser.
The story also quoted him as saying that he would "continue to stay with the PML-N until death".
However, in a statement given to Dawn.com today, Abbasi's spokesperson rejected the remarks associated with the PML-N leader, asserting that "Shahid Khaqan Abbasi is [still] the party's senior vice president".
He questioned why Abbasi would leave the party now when he had not done so during difficult times.
Shortly after, PML-N leader Mohammad Zubair — who is also the spokesperson of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif — confirmed Abbasi's resignation as the party's vice president.
"Abbasi has resigned from the post of senior vice-president. He is a party worker and a very senior representative," Zubair said. "I don’t think leaving the position will have any effect on his stature. He is a big leader who has been the prime minister. The party needs him, his professional experience, political insight, and experience."
When asked if he was indeed confirming Abbasi's resignation of Abbasi, Zubair said “just as the senior vice president”, adding that “Mariyyum Aurangzeb had already confirmed it.”
The speculation regarding Abbasi's resignation comes at a time when Maryam is set to commence her country-wide election campaign after returning to Pakistan from her four-month sojourn in London.
In the past weeks, Abbasi has also been holding seminars and press conferences along with other like-minded leaders from across the political arena — including former finance minister Miftah Ismail, former senator Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar and former Balochistan chief minister Aslam Raisani — in a campaign they've termed "Reimagining Pakistan".
Previously, while talking to Shahzeb Khanzada on Geo News, Abbasi had refuted reports that he was planning to quit the PML-N, saying he had also seen such reports on social media, which surged after the seminars.