Malik Ahmad joins PML-N media team as spokesperson
LAHORE: PML-N president Shehbaz Sharif’s statement in connection with the formation of a National Government in Pakistan has become the talk of the town these days. A clarification statement was issued by the party through Marriyum Aurangzeb in which she categorically claimed that the said proposal was nothing but Mian Shehbaz’s personal opinion.
Interestingly, a day after the said clarification statement, the PML-N president appointed Malik Ahmad Khan as his spokesperson. Mr Shehbaz announced and confirmed Malik’s appointment through social media platform “Twitter” and mentioned that Malik Ahmad had served as special assistant to him (Shehbaz) on information and culture and his performance was found significant. That’s why he was selected for the said portfolio (PML-N spokesperson).
Malik Ahmad had served as my special assistant in past and his performance was found significant, Shahbaz Sharif tweeted
Mr. Ahmad was much closer to Mian Shehbaz sons Hamza and Salman however he had not been the part of PML-N media team since 2018 after his party defeat in general election.
In his recent tour of Karachi early this week, the former CM Punjab emphasized that the formation of a national government had become the need of the hour to fix the national issues. He added that the problems of the country had become so severe that no single party could work all alone and the situation demanded collective efforts and wisdom in this connection. Although Shehbaz Sharif did not share any shape or structure of the plan, he however termed it crucial and mandatory in the current scenario.
On the very next day, PML-N information secretary Marriyum Aurangzeb appeared on the screen and clarified that whatever statement Mr Shehbaz narrated to the Karachi journalists was solely his personal opinion and should have been considered a passing remark.
The spokesperson’s statement gave birth to a debate among the party ranks that the clarification statement was nothing but an embarrassment to Mr Shehbaz who happened to be the party president. It was assumed that the party supreme leader Mian Nawaz Sharif did not like his brother’s statement and therefore ordered the party media team to go for the clarification statement as soon as possible.
The political circles also considered it an embarrassment to the party president which had shifted him to an awkward position. It was also questioned why Mian Nawaz did not directly ask his brother to himself issue a clarification statement instead of giving this task to Ms Aurangzeb.
Mr. Ahmad has not been the part of media team since his party defeat in 2018 general elections, sources claimed
It was also assumed that both Mian Nawaz and Maryam Nawaz indicated Mian Shehbaz that any statement without prior approval from the party supreme leader would not be entertained at all. Maryam Nawaz in a media talk on Wednesday categorically told that Mian Nawaz never supported the concept of national government; he however proposed dialogue and reconciliation.
Nawaz Sharif had already turned down Shehbaz’s proposal of holding a ‘grand dialogue’ with the institutions, including the establishment.
To the question of appointing a spokesperson by Shahbaz Sharif, Ms Aurangzeb replied that the engineered statement issued by certain media outlets urged the PML-N president to go for the clarification.
She added that all statements to the press were issued on party president’s instruction and it was secretary information’s responsibility to disseminate them in an esteemed and professional manner. She welcomed Mr Malik Ahmad to PML-N media team and expressed her best wishes for him.
