by Syed Irfan Raza | Kalbe Ali in Dawn, November 22nd, 2023
• Fazl says will move forward with PML-N; Sana says talking to JUI-F on KP alliance
• Bilawal flays PML-N, PTI as ‘elite-centric’, vows to implement NFC Award
ISLAMABAD: As the political arena heats up in the lead-up to elections, JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman after a meeting with PML-N supreme leader Nawaz Sharif on Tuesday announced that both parties have reached a seat adjustment agreement in a bid to cement their relations.
Former prime minister Nawaz Sharif called on JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman at his residence in Islamabad after making an appearance at the Islamabad High Court in connection with corruption proceedings against him.
There was no statement from the PML-N regarding the meeting between the two, but JUI-F chief Maulana Fazl said both parties have reached an agreement to contest elections together.
Maulana Fazl told reporters that JUI-F and PML-N have decided to “walk together in future” as well.
He said previously both parties had put up a joint front against the PTI led by Imran Khan. “There will be seat adjustments with PML-N and the rules of the game should be fair and equal for all the parties,” he added.
While calling himself and the PML-N leadership ‘mature politicians’, the Maulana said: “We will not make the upcoming election controversial; we will move forward together with the PML-N.”
Though he did not mention if the seat adjustment would be localised or across the country, Rana Sanaullah, who heads the PML-N’s Punjab chapter, told reporters in Lahore that the party was in talks with the JUI-F for seat adjustment in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
He said the PML-N would also woo electables in south Punjab to strengthen its presence. According to Mr Sanaullah, the PML-N had won 34 National Assembly seats out of 46 in south Punjab in 2013 polls, and in the upcoming polls, the party was eyeing up to 40.
However, PML-N Senator Irfan Siddiqui said it was premature to say both sides had agreed to seat adjustments. “Mian Sahib recently returned to the country and wants to meet all allies of the past and even those which were not part of any alliance,” he said in a comment on the meeting. “We had good ties with JUI-F in the past and we want to cement them,” he said.
Since both parties face criticism from the PPP, Maulana Fazl and Rana Sanaullah said they would not pay the PPP chairperson in the same coin, with the latter saying it would lead to bitterness between the two parties.
“…Bilawal should not target the PML-N as he remained with it in the PDM government,” he said and added that the PDM was not an election alliance. Maulana Fazl said, “We will not adopt an extremist attitude against the Pakistan Peoples Party.” …..
https://www.dawn.com/news/1791382/old-allies-tout-fresh-seat-adjustment
