‘Resigned To Give Space To Maryam Nawaz’

Former Pakistani Prime Minister and senior Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Shahid Khaqan Abbasi has said he resigned as party senior vice president because of Maryam Nawaz. Party supremo Nawaz Sharif’s daughter Maryam was promoted to the position of party’s senior vice president in January—a position she would have shared with Abbasi. “Maryam has become a senior leader; she needs space,” Abbasi, who remains a party member, told journalists as reported by The Express Tribune. “If I would have been there, differences could have emerged.” As the party’s chief organiser, Maryam has been tasked with the “restructuring” and “reorganisation” of the party at “all levels”, but with the Election Commission of Pakistan’s deadline to the PML-N to conduct intra-party elections till March 14, tensions are brewing within the party. The disagreements seem to be particularly stark around Maryam’s promotion, the finance minister’s seat and the government’s economic policies.