Buzdar to meet 20 disgruntled PTI MPAs today

In a bid to avoid a no-confidence motion against himself, Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar has decided to meet 20 disgruntled MPAs of his party today (Thursday). The sources privy to the development told Business Recorder that as many as 20 MPAs of the ruling PTI in Punjab Assembly had categorically threatened party senior leadership of creating a forward bloc within PTI if they are not issued development funds.

At a time when the party is facing immense resentment from the coalition partners, the rift within the ranks of PTI came as a blow to the CM, whose performance is already being questioned.

The chief minister, the sources added, had requested the Governor Punjab Chaudhary Muhammad Sarwar to woo the disgruntled MPAs, who then convinced them in a bid to find an amicable solution to the issue.

"We currently number around 20 with three female MPAs; however we are not yet ready to air our grievances publicly," one of the disgruntled MPAs stated on condition of anonymity.

He said that after the disgruntled MPAs raised their concerns, the chief minister agreed to meet them as he had declined their issues on several occasions in the past.

"The Governor has assured us that our issues will be resolved and that's why we're going to meet the chief minister...we'll raise our issues, and there will be no compromise on release of development funds," he added.

He said that the people elect their representatives so that they can undertake development schemes in their respective constituencies but despite passage of one-and-a-half-year, we have not been able to do anything due to non-release of uplift funds.

He also said that most of the MPAs who have raised voice against the provincial government of Punjab for not releasing development funds, come from central and southern Punjab.

"We're not being consulted for anything and when we ask for uplift funds, our request falls on deaf ear," he regretted.

The sources within PTI said that disgruntled MPAs who have threatened to make a forward block within the party included Sardar Shahabuddin Khan Sehir, Sardar Muhiuddin Khan Khosa, Khawaja Muhammad Dawood, Ghazanfar Abbas, Aamir Inayatullah Shahani, Faisal Farooq Cheema, Muneeb Sultan, Taimoor Ali Lali, Ejaz Khan, Jehangir Bhatti, Ali Khakhwani, Muhammad Afzal, Iftikhar Gondal, Gulraiz Afzal, and three female MPAs. The PTI-led coalition government in Punjab may also land in trouble if these 20 MPAs go for creating a forward bloc within the party.

According to sources, the PML-Q has also given PTI a week time to address their reservations as its party lawmakers are also facing issues in their constituencies for not doing any development fund.

The PML-Q is a key coalition partner in Punjab critical for the PTI coalition government to sustain its majority in 371-member provincial assembly of Punjab.

The PTI-led coalition is leading the Punjab Assembly with 191 members including 10 PML-Q MPAs, with a lead of only 5 members against 185 required for a simple majority.

"If the 20 MPAs of PTI opt for creating a forward bloc, the party will be in serious trouble," said a senior PTI leader who wished not to be named.

He said that it is a matter of serious concern for the party leadership as the opposition parties including Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), with 165 members and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) with 7 members have a total strength of 172.