PPP offers PM, Punjab CM slots to PML-N

Party seeking an in-house change in Centre and Punjab

KARACHI/ISLAMABAD:

The PPP has offered the prime minister and Punjab chief minister seats to the PML-N as Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, the chairman of the former, is again looking ahead to an in-house change in the Centre and province.

Sources said the leadership of the two parties had held backdoor talks and made significant progress.
PPP sources said their leaders have offered the PML-N the posts of the prime minister and Punjab chief minister.

An in-house change in the Centre and Punjab is possible if the PML-N agrees to it because both parties have the required number of seats for this purpose.

The PPP has assured the PML-N leaders that the disgruntled PTI members and the ruling party’s allies were prepared for an in-house change in the Centre and Punjab.

Around 25 members of the government and its allies in the National Assembly and 31 in the Punjab Assembly will back the PPP and the PML-N. The sources added that the PML-N had sought time from the PPP to discuss the offer with its

leadership.
In June this year, Punjab Assembly Speaker Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi of the PML-Q called on PPP Co-Chairperson Asif Ali Zardari at Bilawal House in Lahore to express his gratitude for “agreeing to an unopposed” Senate election in Punjab on his request.

According to a statement issued by the PPP, the two leaders had agreed on the need for an independent judiciary and upholding its honour.

During the meeting, they also discussed the political situation in Punjab. The two leaders agreed that an independent judiciary was necessary for democracy and both were inseparable. Respect for judiciary was a vital component of democracy.

Earlier in April, estranged PTI leader Jahangir Tareen had refuted reports of his alleged meetings with leaders of the PPP aimed at joining the latter in a bid to send his party’s governments in Punjab and Centre packing.

PPP’s senior leader Shehla Raza had claimed that Tareen was likely to jump ship next week when he is scheduled to meet Zardari.

Shehla’s claim drew an immediate snub from Tareen, who along with his son is currently facing money laundering charges.

“Jahangir Tareen met with Makhdoom Ahmed Mahmood [a senior PPP leader in Punjab],” Shehla, former Sindh Assembly speaker, wrote on her verified Twitter handle.

“Jahangir Tareen will meet former president Asif Ali Zardari next week in Karachi,” she claimed.
It is believed that he would announce joining the PPP along with his supporters in the meeting with Zardari, she added.

“If this happens, then neither Buzdar nor Niazi will survive,” she said while referring to Punjab Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar and Prime Minister Imran Khan.

However, Tareen was quick to dismiss the report as “propaganda against me”. “There is no truth in reports about me meeting with PPP leaders or joining the PPP,” he said. “Those running fabricated stories against me will face disappointment.”