PTI still trying to cobble up coalition

Imran opts for ‘simple’ oath-taking ceremony

ISLAMABAD: Amid continuing efforts to secure simple majority at the Centre, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf on Thursday initiated formal talks with the leaderships of the Balochistan National Party (BNP) and the Jamhoori Watan Party (JWP).

Collectively both the smaller political parties have won four National Assembly seats — three BNP and one JWP, according to provisional election results.

BNP President Sardar Akhtar Mengal put forward a set of six demands that includes “solid assurance from PTI supremo Imran Khan about the recovery of missing persons from the province and putting an end to enforced disappearances by the future government” in return of his party’s support for the PTI at the Centre.

A PTI delegation led by party’s provincial president Yar Muhammad Rind and Khan’s spokesperson Naeemul Haque on Thursday held negotiations with the former chief minister Mengal, who arrived in Pakistan in 2012 after three-years of self-imposed exile, and now leads his own faction of the BNP.

Following the meeting, Mengal informed the media that his party was ready to lend support to the PTI provided its leadership expresses its resolve to put into practice all the claims about betterment of Balochistan and its people soon after assuming power.

He said he had been raising his voice against enforced disappearances for the last two decades and that an amicable solution of this issue tops his ‘genuine’ demands.



Mengal said solid assurance is also needed from the PTI side over utilisation of Balochistan’s natural resources on its people. While, return of forcefully evicted Afghan refugees is also part of demands.

On the occasion, Naeemul Haque said, all the demands presented by Mengal were nothing new for the PTI as “we already support all these genuine demands and these were part of PTI’s manifesto”.

He hoped that Mengal would soon meet with Imran to announce joining the coalition government.

On the other hand, senior PTI leader Jahangir Khan Tareen has also contacted chief of the JWP Shahzain Bugti and requested him to join the PTI-led government at the Centre.

According to a senior party leader, Bugti had expressed his willingness to join coalition and a formal announcement to this effect would soon be made. With the inclusion of 21 independent MPAs from Punjab, the PTI is relatively in a better position than at the Centre.

The PTI has won 123 and its tally on Thursday reached to 144. While simple majority in Punjab comes with the support of 149 directly-elected MPAs. In the province the PTI has support of the PML-Q that has eight seats and the Balochistan Awami Party that has one seat.

So the grand total for a possible PTI-led coalition government in Punjab is 153.



However, the situation is not as per expectations of the leadership the Centre. If both BNP and JWP announce their support for the PTI at the federal level the party would be in a comfortable position to claim simple majority in lower house of the parliament too.

Foreign dignitaries

The PTI on Thursday formally announced that foreign dignitaries would not be invited to swearing-in ceremony of PM-in-waiting Imran Khan under the austerity measures.

“The PTI chairman has directed to arrange the oath-taking event with austerity. He will take his oath in a simple ceremony at Aiwan-e-Sadr,” PTI spokesperson Fawad Choudhary said.

“No foreign dignitaries are being invited. Only a few close friends of Imran will be invited,” the spokesperson added.

PTI senator Faisal Javed on the other hand clarified there was no truth in the reports circulating in media regarding the invitations being sent to foreign players or actors.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 3^rd, 2018.