Nisar to 'explain' strained ties with PML-N 'soon'

Former interior minister Chaudhry Nisar, who had maintained close ties to the ruling party’s high command until his falling out last year, said on Saturday that there should be on doubt about whether he is still a member of the PML-N.

Addressing a press conference in Taxila, he said he does not divulge his reservations with the party's policies in public, but added in the same breath that the time to publicly shed light on the issues straining his relationship with the PML-N "has come very close".

Asked whether he would contest the upcoming general elections on a PML-N ticket or not, Nisar said this would become clear by May.

The ex-interior minister said he had been "handling matters" developing over the past few months and had decided to stay away from the new cabinet.

"The time has come to explain many things, and you won't have to wait much longer on this," he told reporters.

Asked whether his narrative would be different than that of the PML-N, Nisar asked: "What is the PML-N's narrative?"

The senior PML-N leader said he has a stance, not a narrative, which is that "we should not clash with the judiciary and the armed forces of Pakistan."

In a reference to the Supreme Court's Panama Papers verdict, which had led to Nawaz Sharif's disqualification last year, Nisar said whatever relief the party was seeking regarding the judgment could only come from the apex court.

"My stance is that we should compete with our political opponents, not fight with the institutions," he said, adding that this would be beneficial for Sharif as well as the party.