Qureshi keeps Sharif and Imran guessing

[Devil Soul]

Qureshi keeps Sharif and Imran guessing (Our Correspondent)

25 November 2011 ISLAMABAD - Former foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi has held intense meetings with PML-N chief Mian Nawaz Sharif and PTA chairman Imran Khan but kept them and political observers guessing about his future plans.
Sharif met Qureshi on Tuesday in a bid to woo him away from Imran’s party and made some attractive offers to him if he joins his PML-N. Qureshi remained non-committal while appreciating Sharif’s gesture and said he was consulting his family members and friends.

On Wednesday Imran Khan held a long session with Qureshi and reminded him of his commitment conveyed by Qureshi’s son. The Qureshi sibling is an ardent supporter of Imran. He was present at Imran’s Lahore rally and has been trying to persuade his father to join the PTI. Sources close to Qureshi said he was miffed by Imran’s premature disclosure about his future but his son may finally prevail.

Imran has also met Jehangir Tareen, former federal minister in Musharraf’s government who has formed a group of what he described as clean and electable people. Jehangir’s group is also undecided whether to join PTI or form an alliance with it.

On Thursday Imran travelled to Chakwal, where district nazim Ghulam Abbas joined the PTI.

Abbas is a rival of PML-N MP Ayaz Amir who was earlier toying with the ideal of joining the PTI.

Meanwhile, the organisers of Qureshi’s forthcoming meeting in Ghotki are having a difficult time putting the show together. The district government has refused permission for the rally but organisers insist they would go along with it.

news@khaleejtimes.com

 

[Omar1984]

Qureshi invites Imran to Ghotki public meeting


ISLAMABAD: Four days before his Ghotki public meeting, Shah Mehmood Qureshi met Mian Nawaz Sharif on Tuesday on his invitation. Ostensibly, a guessing game is still on about his future political alignment — PML-N or PTI.

Qureshi will unveil his future line of action on November 27 at a public meeting in Ghotki, a border district inside Sindh, where he has significant following, both spiritually and politically. Not Nawaz Sharif or Shahbaz Sharif, Imran has been invited to the event and this, in a way, indicates the PTI can be his new political destination. Qureshi insists he will announce his future political alignment in Ghotki.

PTI central information secretary Omar Sarfraz Cheema confirmed the Sunday’s event was Qureshi’s initiative and his party chairman had been invited to it. Cheema also expressed his ignorance about Qureshi’s future plan.

“Please wait for November 27,” he said, when The News approached him on telephone in Lahore.Sources close to the Makhdoom of Multan claim that he is not alone in starting new innings with a new political party and they insisted Qureshi’s most likely choice would be Imran Khan’s PTI.

He will not be alone in making a formal announcement on his new destination but a group of politicians, primarily from southern Punjab, will also do so. A forward bloc that has emerged in the PPP Punjab and supported the former foreign minister is also expected to join the PTI, more likely on November 27.

Needless to say, Qureshi’s new political option is the PTI and his joining the party will arguably be the most significant boost to a party that has set the alarm bells ringing in the PML-N and PPP following its recent Lahore public meeting.

“Let me first make an announcement about my own future. Only then I can try to persuade others to also join me,” said the soft-spoken Qureshi. Asked about his meeting with Nawaz Sharif, he said he met the PML-N leader on his invitation, as both enjoyed cordial relations since long.

He did not agree with this correspondent that during his rendezvous with the PML-N leader, he presented a charter of demands before him. When asked could he be the next chief minister of the Punjab after joining a political party, Qureshi said his future political alignment would be without preconditions or demands. “Had this been the case, I would have not resigned as foreign minister. National interests and prestige is more important to me,” he emphasised.



Qureshi invites Imran to Ghotki public meeting

 

[Devil Soul]

Shah Mehmood Qureshi: the game-changer
Khawar Ghumman | Metropolitan > Islamabad | From the Newspaper (5 hours ago) Today


Shah Mehmood Qureshi left the PPP after 18 years to protest against the party`s coalition with the PML-Q.—AFP photo

Shah Mehmood Qureshi`s resignation from the basic party membership of the Pakistan People`s Party (PPP) as well as the National Assembly has his rival political parties on tenterhooks.

Each of them is hoping that the longtime PPP stalwart becomes a part of it – for the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) it would give them an opportunity to bolster its presence in south Punjab, for the Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaf (PTI) there is no harm in having an `old` face with a reliable vote bank with the `new` faces that mark the party right now.

Qureshi left the PPP after 18 years to protest against the party`s coalition with the PML-Quaid, and then he also claims for the government`s failure to address the problems of the common man.

Throughout his long association, Qureshi was a force to reckon with within the rank and file of the PPP: he was the frontrunner to become prime minister, but lost to Yousuf Raza Gilani, and had headed the Punjab chapter of the party for many years.

This stemmed from his good relations with the late Benazir Bhutto, and because he has considerable influence in the southern belt of the province with his position as `makhdoom` for his followers who are in good numbers even in some parts of Sindh. Hence, unlike other PPP turncoats, Qureshi is in great demand.

None other than PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif, with whom he once served as finance minister in the provincial cabinet, is trying to woo him to join his party. In fact, on Tuesday, at the invitation of the PML-N chief, Qureshi travelled to Raiwind for a meeting.

The red-carpet welcome that was accorded to Qureshi in Raiwind – the entire PML-N leadership stood with their hands folded in his honour – showed the main opposition party was desperately looking for an affirmative nod.

However, much to the chagrin of news hungry TV channels, Qureshi at the end of the meeting remained tight-lipped about whether he would join the PML-N.

He deferred all decisions relating to his future political course till November 27, when he intends to address a political rally in Ghotki, Sindh.

Reliable sources in the PML-N told Dawn that the party was more than willing to take Qureshi on board at his terms and conditions, but he has sought more time to make up his mind.

According to them, Qureshi was confused whether he should join the PML-N or head a separate group comprising dissidents from within the PPP and then form an alliance.

The main reason why the PML-N is willing to go the extra mile to have Qureshi on board is because the PPP owes its strong vote base to him in the southern districts of Punjab. And with him parting ways with Zardari, the Sharif brothers are looking for a good show in the south where their party has struggled in the past.

The PML-N feels that since the PPP is in an alliance with the PML-Q, they have the potential to wipe out whatever electoral presence the party carries in the so-called Saraiki belt of the province.

In fact, PPP and PML-Q`s representatives outnumber the PML-N in the region: they have 36 seats compared to PML-N`s 12 in the current National Assembly. And of the 12 districts in southern Punjab, PML-N has a presence in only six.

Talking to Dawn , a sitting PML-Q MNA from the southern belt agreed that in the absence of Qureshi it would not be an easy run for the PPP in the Saraiki belt. Moreover, he said, if Qureshi joined hands with the PML-N, then PPP candidates would have to a challenge canvassing support in the run-up to the next general elections.

This has created some uneasiness, which was witnessed during the meeting of PML-Q parliamentarians this week.

On the eve, Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain categorically warned party lawmakers hailing from the south that after Qureshi quitting the PPP, they will be facing tough competition ahead, hence, they needed to close their ranks.

Therefore, he said, it had become imperative for the party to have an election alliance with the PPP.

On other hand, in the hope of roping in some elect-able faces to his PTI, Imran Khan is also keeping his fingers crossed over the future move of Qureshi. Though Qureshi is yet to announce his next political move, spokespersons for both the PML-N and PTI have predicted Qureshi was poised to join their ranks.

Mr Qureshi is a seasoned and shrewd politician who will be game-changer in the next elections – no doubt he`ll play his cards wisely this time around as well.

khawar.ghumman@gmail.com

 

[Respect4Respect01]

im not liking this, qurwahi is playing double game.

 

[W.11]

quraishi will be a bloody fool to join back nawaz, because if nawaz loses next election, it will be a huge set back to his career

 

[Super Falcon]

yes i think if he is loyal to pak than must join imran no other choices

 

[Devil Soul]

i dont know if Imran is coming to my jalsa:SMQ
i've invited all parties to my jalsa: SMQ
my jalsa is to get in touch with people not to announce which party i'll join: SMQ
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