Over 40 parliamentarians and ministers on Wednesday called on Punjab Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar at his secretariat to express their complete confidence in him and the leadership of Prime Minister Imran Khan amid rising calls for the provincial chief executive’s removal from his post.
Sardar Khurram Leghari, a member of the Jahangir Khan Tareen (JKT) group, has also rejected the minus-Buzdar strategy.
The lawmakers, who called on the chief minister, underscored that all PTI members were united under the leadership of PM Imran and the opposition was trying to create rifts among the party ranks. However, they added that they were “soldiers” of PM Imran and fight till the end. They unanimously vowed to oppose the no-confidence move against the PTI government.
Speaking on the occasion, Buzdar said the opposition was trying to create political unrest and derail the process of economic development in the country.
“We are ready to deal with any situation and will not let the opposition to play with national interest. Politics of revenge is not part of the PTI culture. The doors of the chief minister’s office are open for everyone,” he maintained.
Read: Tareen group links support to Buzdar’s ouster
Those who called on the chief minister included provincial ministers Mian Khalid Mahmood, Asad Khokhar, Khayal Ahmad Kastro, Syedul Hassan Shah, Shaukat Lalika, Hashim Jawan Bakht and Yasir Humayun. The MPs in attendance included Khurram Khan Leghari, Ahmad Shah Khaga, Mian Mhuammad Akhtar Hayyat, Chaudhry Liaqat Ali, Saleem Sarwar Joda, Chaudhry Amjad Mahmood, Iftikhar Gondal, Fateh Khaliq Bandial, Maj (retd) Muhammad Latasob Satti , Sardar Ahmad Direshk, Sardar Mohiuddin Khosa, Sardar Javed Khan Lund, Syed Sabtain Raza, Nazeer Chohan, Shakeel Shahid, Umar Farooq, Ali Akhtar, Saeed Ahmad, Khurram Ejaz, Umar Aftab, Talat Naqvi, Syeda Sonia Ali Raza Shah and Mahindar Pal Singh among others.
Punjab Assembly chief whip MPA Syed Ali Abbas Shah was also present on the occasion.
Speaking to media, Punjab Governor Chaudhry Muhammad Sarwar said changing the chief minister was the prerogative of the prime minister and the government allies. “As long as Buzdar has the support of the prime minister, party members and allies, he will remain in his office.”
The governor said it was the responsibility of the opposition to gather 172 members in the no-confidence motion against the prime minister. “There should be no horse-trading as it is detrimental to democracy,” he underscored.
Read: MNAs assure Buzdar of support
Sarwar also advised the party leadership to hold talks with estranged party leaders Jahangir Khan Tareen and Abdul Aleem Khan.
Separately, Leghari said the ouster of Buzdar might be an opinion of an individual, but could not be considered the decision of all JKT group members.
“I am standing with the Punjab chief minister and do not support the minus-Buzdar formula. We cannot leave Buzdar in the current circumstances. Those who are talking about the minus-Buzdar formula are still part of his cabinet. They should save the assembly, instead of wasting time in chalking out this strategy,” he underscored.
PM Imran is expected to visit Lahore on Thursday (today) accompanied by federal ministers.
He will meet the Punjab chief minister as well as the governor. Sources said the premier would later hold a meeting with members of the provincial assembly and then preside over a session on the political situation.
Earlier, the inside story of the premier’s recent meeting with PTI MNAs has come to the fore.
They expressed their confidence in the leadership of PM Imran, but some of them were unhappy with the performance of Buzdar.
Sources said they had told the premier that the federal government was facing problems because of the poor governance in the province.
PM Imran told them that he was monitoring Punjab closely and aware of everything that was going on in the province.
The MNAs assured the prime minister that they would back him to thwart the no-confidence motion.
PML-N legislator
PML-N MPA Ashraf Ansari called on Punjab Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar on Wednesday and expressed full trust in his leadership.
As per an official announcement, he said during the meeting that Chief Minister Buzdar “always listened to us and solved our problems”.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 10th, 2022.
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