'Unification Bloc' steps in to Punjab Assembly

Breakaway group of PML-Q allotted separate seats in the Punjab Assembly.

LAHORE: Punjab Assembly speaker Rana Iqbal Khan on Tuesday accepted the “Unification Bloc” as a separate parliamentary group and allotted its members separate seats in the provincial assembly.

This follows 44 Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) ministers of the provincial assembly (MPAs) seeking separate seats in the Punjab Assembly in a meeting with  the assembly’s speaker earlier last week.

The breakaway group of the PML-Q sides with the treasury in the assembly and has sought the speaker’s approval to sit on separate seats.

The group, which claims to have over 40 members on board, has chosen Tahir Ali Javed, a former provincial health minister as their leader.

The move came after the ruling PML-N felt the need to strengthen the treasury in case the coalition PPP partners decide to quit the government.

Political observers feel that if this group decides to side with the treasury, a prolonged legal battle on who really represents PML-Q may ensue.