Lahore/Islamabad: Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) has called a meeting of the parliamentary party on Monday (today) to finalize the strategy to counter the expected move by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf to dissolve the Punjab Assembly.
On the other hand, PTI Chairman Imran Khan has also called a meeting with the party leaders on Monday to discuss their plan of action. Punjab government spokesperson Musrat Javed Cheema said that the PTI chief had called a meeting in Lahore to consult the party leaders on the announcement of his resignation from the assemblies.
PMLN sources say that the party has not yet decided to move a no-confidence motion against Chief Minister Punjab Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi as it will be difficult for him to show the required 186 members. However, PMLN Vice President Hamza Shehbaz has called a meeting of the Punjab Parliamentary Party to consider the options. Sources say that it is more likely that the PMLN leadership will ask Parvez Elahi to seek a vote of confidence through the Governor of Punjab.
He claimed that the option of immediate no-confidence motion was not under consideration but it would be considered in the meeting. The legal aspects will be considered and consulted on filing a review petition in the Supreme Court on the election of the Chief Minister.
When contacted, PMLN Punjab leader Uzma Bukhari said that the party will take all legal and constitutional measures to prevent PTI from dissolving the Punjab Assembly. He claimed that “with the power of only two additional members, Pervaiz Elahi has no right to dissolve the Assembly on the order of ‘Ghari Chor’ (watch thief). On the question of treating the current governor Pervez Elahi with the PMLN like the former PTI governor, he said the party will use all legal and constitutional options. To another question about resignations, he said, “They don’t have the guts to resign. If Imran Khan forces his members to resign, the party will split into so many parts that they cannot be counted.” Can,” he claimed, adding that if he resigns, the PMLN will form the government in Punjab.
Meanwhile, former president and president of the Pakistan People’s Party Parliamentarians Asif Ali Zardari moved to deal with the changing political developments. Finance Minister Senator Ishaq Dar visited Zardari House and held consultations with him. They discussed the issues related to the political situation in the country, especially focusing on devising strategies for the changing political development after Imran Khan’s announcement to quit the two provincial assemblies.
Sources say that the meeting of the heads of the coalition parties will be held next week in which an action plan will be drawn up. Asif Zardari has already decided to stay in Lahore as the coalition government plans to take back the Punjab government, while constitutional options are also being considered to prevent Tehreek-e-Insaf from dissolving the assembly.
On the other hand, Punjab Chief Minister Pervez Elahi has said that if Imran Khan says so, he will not take even a minute to dissolve the Punjab Assembly. “We are very respectful and polite people and we do not abandon what we support,” he claimed. In a video statement, he said that whenever Shahbaz Sharif resigns, the 27 km government will not be able to run for 27 hours. He said that Allah Almighty has given a new life to Imran Khan, his political strategy entered a decisive period in the Rawalpindi rally. He further said that the sea of people in the Rawalpindi rally is proof of Imran Khan’s immense popularity.
He said the PDM’s “fake alliance” would soon break up after the resignations from the provincial assemblies. PMLN leaders are liars and they cannot stop lying. They will know their real importance in the election,” he alleged. There will be rule of law in the country and productive work will be done which will benefit the common people as well as their children. It has started from Punjab,” he claimed.
On the other hand, Information and Broadcasting Minister Maryam Aurangzeb said that Imran Khan has become “irrelevant”. “The government is trying to repair the damage caused by Imran Khan during his disastrous four-year tenure,” he said in a statement. He said that apart from inflation, destruction of economy and foreign relations, historical debts are the legacy of Imran Khan. He said that the government’s focus is only on the problems faced by the people as it is committed to a clear agenda for the development and prosperity of Pakistan. “Through this agenda, the ruling coalition has created a clear vision of national priorities and vision within Pakistan and to the outside world,” the minister added.
Referring to Imran Khan and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, he said that two roles of construction and destruction are before the nation. He questioned why elections should be held ahead of time because Imran Khan has lost power. Taking a jibe at the PTI leadership, he said that they had come to topple the federal government but left by announcing the topple of both their governments in Punjab and KP. The minister said that though he had announced to quit the system, he was drawing salaries and enjoying other perks as a legislator despite resigning from the system. No face saving can work for PTI as people are fully aware of their true faces. He added that first resigning from the assemblies and then filing a petition in the High Court, and neither returning the money taken as salaries nor giving perks, vehicles and houses have exposed him. He said that times and political conditions have changed but one person’s lies, mischievous mentality and agenda have not changed.
