Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly (NA) and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President Shehbaz Sharif and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari on Saturday discussed the appointment of members of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) over the telephone, reported 24NewsHD TV channel.

Both the leaders also discussed the overall political situation in the country.

A day before, on Friday (September 3), 24News TV channel had reported while quoting its sources that Shehbaz Sharif had reservations over Prime Minister Imran Khan’s manner of holding consultations with the opposition over the appointment of two members of the ECP.

Sources had divulged that as the opposition parties were pondering over the names of possible members of the ECP from Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) there was a feeling in these parties that the prime minister had not held meaningful consultations with them on the subject under Article 213 of the Constitution.

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Moreover, the opposition was of the view that the government was forcing it to go by its selection of members of the election commission, sources had told the channel.

It had also been learnt that the opposition leaders were looking at the credentials of the persons whose list the government had provided to them for their possible appointment as members of the ECP.

Furthermore, as per insiders’ account, the opposition also wanted to suggest its own names to PM Khan, and Shehbaz had already begun consultations with other opposition leaders in this regard.

PML-Q, MQM leaders join PPP

PML-Q and MQM local leaders met Bilawal Bhutto in Multan on Saturday and announced to join the PPP.

PML-Q’s ticket-holder Mian Mazhar Abbas and MQM’s ticket-holder Rana Amjat Ali expressed confidence in the leadership of Bilawal.

Hatred for Shehbaz made PM mad: PML-N

Meanwhile, spokesperson for Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Marriyum Aurangzeb has said that while the party President and former Punjab Chief Minister (CM) Shehbaz Sharif had toiled hard to make the province prosperous, PM Imran and present CM Usman Buzdar had turned Punjab’s soil barren, its youth jobless and prices of essential use expensive.

“Both brothers namely Imran and Usman levelled baseless allegations against Shehbaz, twice got him arrested and ordered inquiries against him which are over now without proving anything against him, but still the venom and hatred of both these brothers against the PML-N president refuses to die down,” she regretted.

“Extreme dislike for Shehbaz has made the prime minister mad,” Marriyum said, adding earlier he had unleashed NAB against him. But when it failed to prove anything against the former Punjab CM, PM Imran got the idea of using FIA for the purpose.

She claimed that Shehbaz Sharif during his stint as Punjab CM had launched development projects of worth billions of rupees, and when held to account, he satisfied the authorities about the use of each and every penny. “And what PM Imran and CM Buzdar have done for people of the province except giving them price hike,” she alleged.

Reporters Umar Aslam and Awais Kiani