PTI goes for Elahi of ‘Q’ to deny ‘N’ Punjab

ISLAMABAD: In a massive setback to the joint opposition in their bid to oust the prime minister through a no-confidence motion with the help of government allies, the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on Monday announced Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi of Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) – a key ally of the PTI in the Centre and Punjab – as its candidate to replace Usman Buzdar.

Buzdar stepped down as chief minister Punjab on Monday, creating space for Chaudhary of Gujrat who has been intensely lobbying to get the most coveted slot of chief minister of the country’s largest province.

The sources said that Elahi held a one-on-one meeting with Prime Minister Imran Khan at his Bani Gala residence, in which, he was tasked to reach out to “hostile” lawmakers of the opposition in order to defeat the no-confidence motion.

The PML-Q leader assured the prime minister that he would totally live up to his expectation, and the dreams of those who are building castles in the air to remove the prime minister would be shattered to bits.

Following the secretive huddle between the two bigwigs of the country which took place far from the media glare, the special assistant to the prime minister on political communications Shahbaz Gill, took to Twitter and said: “PTI will support Chaudhary Pervez Elahi as chief ministerial candidate. PML-Q announces support to the prime minister in the no-confidence motion”.

‘Politics of public rallies’ won’t have impact on no-trust motion: Elahi

Later, the state minister for information and broadcasting, Farrukh Habib, confirmed that Buzdar had presented his resignation to the prime minister.

Taking to Twitter, he said that the PML-Q had decided to support the government in the no-confidence resolution submitted against PM Khan by the joint opposition.

The development came less than an hour after the opposition formally tabled a no-confidence resolution against Prime Minister Imran Khan in the National Assembly.

This development left PML-Q leader Tariq Basheer Cheema red-faced who immediately announced to quit the federal cabinet of Prime Minister Khan, and declared he would never support the prime minister in the no-confidence vote even if he has to flee the country.

However, Moonis Elahi showed optimism to convince Cheema, saying he would request him not to take a solo flight at a time when the party needed unity in its ranks.

In his resignation letter submitted to the prime minister, Cheema said he was “constrained to tender my resignation with immediate effect due to the inability of the government to bring stability to the democratic institutions and resolve serious governance issue[s] in the provinces”.

In a counter offensive launched by the joint opposition, four out of total five MNAs belonging to Balochistan Awami party (BAP), in a presser, announced to join hands with the opposition in their no-trust move against the prime minister.

However, Zubeda Jalal of BAP who is the minister for defence production gave a categorical rebuke to her party by not joining the presser of BAP leaders.

Earlier, at a meeting of the PTI’s Political Committee chaired by the prime minister who is also chairman of the party, the senior leadership of PTI advised the prime minister to replace CM Buzdar with Pervez Elahi to defeat the joint opposition’s no-confidence motion against the prime minister in the National Assembly, which he accepted. In yet another move to woo Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P), another key ally of the PTI in the Centre, the government has decided to give one more ministry – Maritime Affairs Ministry – to the MQM-P, which, the sources said the ally accepted.

A government delegation comprising Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Asad Umar, and Pervez Khattak also met the MQM-P leadership.

The sources said that the MQM-P leadership assured the PTI delegation to throw its weight behind the prime minister in the upcoming vote of no-confidence motion against him.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2022