Prime Minister Imran Khan has reportedly once again refused to replace Chief Minister Punjab Usman Buzdar despite severe criticism from both within the PTI and coalition partner Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) over sustained governance issues and lack of performance.
Criticism against the Punjab set up has been accompanied by restiveness by other regional coalition partners notably Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P), Balochistan National Party-Mengal (PNB-M), Balochistan Awami Party (BAP) and Grand Democratic Alliance (GDA), prompting speculation in the federal capital that this smacks of more of a concerted movement than one would have expected possible from these regional parties. "Perhaps the powers that be are putting pressure on the Prime Minister to put his house in order and deal with rising inflation and unemployment as well as undertake reforms on the pattern that led to PTI winning a landslide majority in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in the 2018 general elections," a source close to the seat of power told Business Recorder on condition of strict anonymity.
Background interviews with those close to the Prime Minister however revealed that Buzdar continues to enjoy unconditional support in Bani Gala and with senior party leaders led by Jahangir Tareen despite resentment within the party and key coalition partner PML-Q. In the backdrop of the ongoing negotiations with allied parties to address their concerns, they said that various PTI leaders put forward a proposal to Prime Minister Imran Khan to replace Buzdar with someone acceptable to all. "But after consulting his close aides particularly Jahangir Tareen, the Prime Minister simply rejected the proposal", a senior PTI leader said on condition on anonymity.
He said that one proposal was to replace Buzdar with Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi, as he has already served as a 'successful' chief minister; but the proposal was rejected by the Prime Minister and many other senior party leaders.
In an apparent attack on Buzdar, Federal Minister for Science and Technology Fawad Chaudhry took to twitter on Friday and raised questions over the discretionary funds of chief ministers, terming this as a violation of Article 140-A of the Constitution. "The problem is not the distribution of resources by the Punjab government, the discretionary funds of the chief ministers is in violation of Article 140-A. As per the formula, the federal government distributes funds to the provinces where the funds should also be transferred at distract levels. Chief Ministers consider themselves as 'kings', which is against the public interest", he tweeted.
The PML-Q, according to the sources, has given PTI a one week deadline to address their reservations as lack of any sign of improving the situation during the last 17 months is badly affecting the party's credibility among its voters. PML-Q is a key coalition partner in Punjab critical for the PTI coalition government to sustain its majority in the 371-member provincial assembly of Punjab. The PTI-led coalition is leading the Punjab Assembly with 191 members, PTI 181 and PML-Q 10, a lead of only 5 members against 185 required for a simple majority.
This, according to the PTI leader, is a serious concern for the party leadership, as the opposition parties including Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), with 165 and Pakistan People's Party (PPP) 7 have a total strength of 172. Whereas, there are also four independents and one member of the Pakistan Rah-e-Haq party who can change sides depending on situation, sources added.
The PTI government would also be in danger in the center in case the coalition partners withdraw their support. In the 342-member National Assembly, the PTI has 156 members and together with its coalition partners, MQM-P 7, BNP-Mengal 5, PML-Q 5, BAP 5, GDA 3 and AML 1, its current strength is 182; a thin lead of only 10 members against 172, required for a simple majority in the House.