Rashid’s outburst imperils PTI-led ruling coalition

QUETTA:

The ruling coalition on Saturday showed signs of cracks as Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid and Federal Water Resources Minister Moonis Elahi of the PML-Q exchanged allegations in the wake of the no-confidence motion tabled in the National Assembly by the opposition.

Addressing a news conference in Quetta, Rashid told reporters that he was not the one blackmailing the government with five votes for the post of the chief minister.

When asked about five votes of the Balochistan Awami Party, Rashid replied that he was talking about Punjab, not Balochistan.

He was apparently referring to reports that the PML-Q – a key ally of the PTI both in the Centre and Punjab – was demanding of the government to replace Chief Minister Usman Buzdar with its senior party leader and provincial assembly speaker Pervaiz Elahi in return for foiling the opposition’s no-confidence motion in the lower house of parliament.

The interior minister arrived in Quetta and inaugurated the mega centre of the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA). National Assembly Deputy Speaker Qasim Suri was among those present on the occasion.

"I stand like a rock with [PM] Imran Khan," said the interior minister, whose party, the Awami Muslim League Pakistan, is a government ally.

To a question about PM Imran’s hard-hitting speeches against opposition leaders, Rashid said he believed that the political temperature of the country should be brought down.

“Their [opposition] no-confidence motion will be defeated so it is better that we cool them down now and prepare them mentally that they are going to lose,” he added.

The minister lashed out at the opposition parties, accusing them of deceiving the masses under what he called the cover of the no-confidence vote. "They are selling their conscience, not votes," he claimed. "I will stand by Prime Minister Imran Khan and he will complete five years.”

Also read: PML-Q, MQM supports PTI against no-trust motion, says Asad Umar

He said over 300 people had stormed the Parliament Lodges that put the security of the house at risk.
When asked about the arrest of two members of the National Assembly, he maintained that the lawmakers had deliberately handed themselves over to the police to gain publicity.

"We provided them good food and sent them back," he added.

He reiterated that no “militia” would be allowed to take the law into their hands.

“The government has the constitutional authority to convene the military under Article 245 of the Constitution but currently, there is no need.”

Hitting back at Rashid’s statement, Moonis tweeted: “I respect Sheikh Rashid but he is forgetting that he used to take money from the elders of his party during his student life.”

In a separate statement, the PML-Q leader claimed that parties with 50 seats were approaching a five-seat party for a meeting and consultations.

“Some say that if a person with just one seat can become an interior minister, then why a party with five seats can’t have its own chief minister and governor.”

Sources privy to the development told The Express Tribune that the PML-Q in a meeting held earlier in the day had consultations on the ongoing talks with the government and opposition parties over the no-confidence motion.

They added that the meeting between the PML-Q and the PTI delegations on Friday remained fruitless as the government could not satisfy its ally in securing its support for the no-trust move.

The insiders said the PML-Q would announce its final decision on Sunday (today) and was likely to part ways with the ruling PTI.

Meanwhile, Balochistan Awami Party (BAP) — an ally of the ruling party in Balochistan and Punjab — has decided to hold further consultations in the party regarding its final decision on the opposition’s no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Imran Khan.

Sources privy to the development revealed that the party has chosen to studiously withhold its final decision concerning the no-trust motion for now as it seeks to deliberate further over the matter before announcing its final word.

The decision about the no-confidence motion will be decided in the public interest, BAP sources said, adding that the party was also currently in touch with the opposition parties, with whom it will soon hold meetings.

“The decision on the no-confidence motion will be taken jointly by the senior leadership of the party and the members of the assembly,” BAP sources said.

Earlier, BAP President Jam Kamal Khan had told Interior Minister Sheikh Rasheed that his party can make decisions for themselves.

The interior minister had earlier in the day claimed that BAP would stand by PM Imran Khan in face of the opposition's no-confidence motion.

The Opposition parties moved a no-confidence motion seeking the ouster of PM Imran Khan on March 8, accusing him of mismanaging the economy and poor governance.

After submitting the no-confidence motion in the NA Secretariat, the opposition is trying to woo the PTI allies in supporting its no-trust move, while the government has ramped up efforts of retaining its allies.