ISLAMABAD: Former Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi has resigned as senior vice president of Pakistan Muslim League (N), sources told JEE News on Wednesday.
Sources familiar with the matter said that Abbasi decided to resign after Maryam Nawaz was appointed as the party’s chief organizer and senior vice-president by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who is also the PML-N president.
Unhappy with the decision taken without consulting other party members, sources said Abbasi resigned the day after his appointment.
Earlier this month, Maryam was promoted as senior vice-president of the PML-N and was also asked to reshuffle the party for the betterment.
He was also empowered to reorganize the party at all functional tiers/levels as “Chief Organizer”.
With this appointment, Maryam has become the third most powerful figure in the party after her father Nawaz Sharif and her uncle Shehbaz Sharif, who is the current prime minister.
Sources told the party leadership regarding Abbasi that ‘Maryam Nawaz has been appointed as senior vice president and in this situation there is no reason for me to work as SVP of the party.
When contacted, Shahid Khaqan Abbasi refused to give any statement to the media regarding his resignation.
Maryam’s promotion upset the Muslim League-N leaders.
However, his elevation to the post of senior vice president and chief organizer of the party did not go down well with strong Muslim League (N) leaders, sources told News.
According to sources, several second-ranking senior leaders of the Muslim League (N) are unhappy with this appointment, citing lack of consultation as a major reason for dissatisfaction with the position.
A senior PML-N leader told News on condition of anonymity that “this decision is undemocratic and is aimed at advancing the political dynasty of the Sharifs”. He revealed that hardly any senior leader outside the Sharif family was consulted before taking the decision.
Senior Muslim League (N) leaders like Khawaja Asif, Tanveer Hussain, Abbasi, Ahsan Iqbal, Sardar Ayaz Sadiq, Khawaja Saad Rafique, Raja Zafarul Haque, are in the party hierarchy under Maryam. Before the verdict, Abbasi was the only senior vice president of the party, which had more than a dozen vice presidents, including Maryam.
Another party leader, who spoke to JEE News on condition of anonymity, lamented the decision, saying: “Only the Sharif family or their close relatives are the first to hold every important party or government post. It’s right.”
