LAHORE: JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman on Wednesday called on PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif and asked him to support his party’s demand to defer the polls beyond next January. The latter, however, has sought time to consult with his party.

“Maulana Fazl asked Shehbaz to support his demand to defer the polls beyond January as both have to make joint political moves in the current scenario. The PML-N leader, however, told him that he would take up the proposal with the party leadership before giving any commitment,” a source told Dawn after the meeting.

PML-N Secretary General Ahsan Iqbal, Sardar Ayaz Sadiq and Attaullah Tarar also attended the huddle, which took place just hours before PML-N supreme leader Nawaz Sharif landed in Jeddah, in the early hours of Thursday, en route to Pakistan from the UK.

According to party senator Irfan Siddiqui, the elder Sharif will perform Umrah and spend time with his son Hussain Sharif in Saudi Arabia.

Nawaz, who had been in self-imposed exile since 2019, had left for London in the middle of his seven-year jail term on medical grounds. During these four years, he was declared a proclaimed offender in the Al Azizia and Avenfield graft cases for his continuous absence from proceedings.

According to PML-N leaders, the elder Sharif will lead the election campaign after returning to the country.

According to a statement issued by the PML-N after the meeting between Maulana Fazl and Shehbaz Sharif, both leaders discussed ‘free and fair’ elections and overall political situation. “Both agreed to jointly move forward (in their political strategies) and face the challenges together,” it said.

Asked if Shehbaz Sharif had agreed to Maulana Fazl’s proposal to defer polls because of cold weather, Ahsan Iqbal told Dawn that “no such decision has been made”.