The PML-N in its Central Organising Committee meeting chaired by party chief Nawaz Sharif had given Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani 72 hours to accept or reject the PML-N's finalised agenda for the parties to work together. The deadline will now be set for after the three days of mourning.
Sharif said that the meeting finalised a broad, issue-based agenda which the government had 45 days to follow through on, if they chose to accept to work with the PML-N. He added that if the government did not perform effectively on the agenda by February 20, the PML-N may leave the Punjab government. He said the formulated agenda was not the PML-N's but the "people's agenda".
Sharif said that a 30 per cent decrease in government expense was on of their key demands. The plan also includes demands of
According to Express 24/7 correspondent, Sabur Ali Syed, the PML-N decided that it would not, on its own, introduce a no-confidence motion against the prime minister. It was also decided that the PML-N would adopt a very strong and hawkish approach against the policies of the government, especially in the parliament.
The parties met in the backdrop of meetings of their leaders with Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani on Monday in what analysts described as a desperate bid to shore up support and make new allies after the MQM withdrew.
PML-N's Central Organising Committee meeting discussed the issue of a no-confidence motion against Gilani. Nawaz also apprised party leaders about the meeting between Prime Minister Gilani and Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif on Monday.
Gilani faces an imminent no-confidence motion in the National Assembly after MQM’s withdrawal stripped the party of its already slender majority in the parliament.
The ruling PPP has 125 members in the National Assembly, 47 short of a simple majority to keep the government in office. It has support from Awami National Party (ANP) with 13 lawmakers, five from the Pir Pagara-led Functional League and around 17 independent members. The PPP needs at least 12 seats to survive in the center.
PML-N had already announced that it would not demand a vote of no confidence in Gilani because to do so would exacerbate instability in the country. The PML-N believes a no-confidence vote would "damage the whole country," chairman Raja Zafar-ul-Haq told Reuters.
PML-N spokesman Ahsan Iqbal said "at the moment, a no-confidence vote does not look like a possibility".
“We will not support the government but we will also not become a part of any conspiracy to topple it,” Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, the opposition leader in the National Assembly said.
Nonetheless, if the Nawaz League decides to table a no-confidence motion against Premier Gilani, it’ll need support from the PML-Q, MQM and JUI-F.
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