PM offers CM’s seat to Elahi

For weeks, Prime Minister Imran Khan watched the anti-government moves of the joint opposition parties and kept promising that he would fight till the last ball and soon turn the tables.

On Monday, he started showing his cards and in the first pledged “surprise”, Premier Imran offered the Punjab chief minister’s slot to PML-Q leader Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi, the incumbent provincial assembly speaker.

Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Farrukh Habib confirmed that Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar has tendered his resignation to PM Imran after the joint opposition submitted a no-trust motion against Buzdar in the provincial assembly, citing “poor performance”.

The decision was taken after Elahi along with Federal Minister for Water Resources Moonis Elahi, Senator Kamil Ali Agha and MNA Hussain Elahi called on the PM at his residence in Bani Gala to discuss the ongoing political situation, especially, the no-confidence motion against him.

“I have taken the resignation from Usman Bazdar and I congratulate Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi for being nominated from my party’s side as the chief minister of Punjab,” the official statement from the PML-Q quoted the premier as saying during the meeting.

In return, Elahi thanked PM Imran for entrusting him with the post of the chief minister, saying he would remain trustworthy. Elahi also assured PM Imran of his party’s full cooperation and vowed to continue working together for the betterment of the people as an ally of the government.

Though Elahi assured PM of full cooperation, his party’s Federal Minister for Housing and Works Tariq Bashir Cheema revolted against the decision and not only resigned as the federal minister but announced that he would vote against PM Imran when the motion of no-confidence was put to vote. The PML-Q has a total of five votes but with Cheema going against Elahi’s decision, it has only four seats left in the NA.

The details about Buzdar’s resignation and Elahi’s entry emerged after PM’s Special Assistant on Political Communication Shahbaz Gill tweeted that the PML-Q leadership has assured the premier of its support against the no-trust move of the opposition parties. The PTI will support Elahi as the candidate for the post of Punjab CM, he added.

Farrukh Habib maintained that “all issues were settled” after the meeting between the PM and Elahi, saying that the PML-Q leadership has expressed full confidence in PM Imran and announced its support for him against the no-trust motion in the lower house.

The political pundits believe that Prime Minister Imran has turned the tables on the opposition after accepting the demand of minus Buzdar. Now, most likely the disgruntled group of the ruling party will support the prime minister against the no-trust motion. However, the situation will be clear in a couple of days, they added.

CM Buzdar – PM Imran’s Achilles’ heel and a political novice conspicuous for his plebeian rootedness – was finally sacrificed to win the support of the PML-Q. Now, the premier has to woo his party’s disgruntled members, who have formed their own factions within the party and could still block Elahi’s way to becoming CM Punjab.

Soon after winning support from Elahi, the PTI stalwarts met MQM-P lawmakers to seek their support on the no-confidence motion. Following a 90-minute long meeting, the MQM-P spokesperson said that the Rabita Committee would take the final decision on the discussion held with the government delegation. The spokesperson said that the negotiations on the no-trust motion were in progress and the MQM-P was in no hurry as it would take the decision after gauging its mandate.

Read more: NA session adjourned after no-confidence tabled against PM Imran

The MQM-P has seven votes in the National Assembly and, following PML-Q’s decision in favour of the government and Balochistan Awami Party’s four lawmakers joining the opposition camp, MQM-P is in a position to make or break. If the MQM-P leaves government alliance then the government will not have simple majority – 172 out of a total of 342 members of the House.

Knowing the importance of seven deciding votes, the joint opposition parties’ delegation visited the MQM-P lawmakers on the heels of its meeting with the government team. The MQM-P spokesperson once again announced that the Rabita Committee would take the final decision if it should side with the government or the opposition.

After Buzdar, sources said, the government was ready to sacrifice Sindh Governor Imran Ismail as it has offered the governorship and an additional portfolio to the MQM-P, which already has two ministries in the federal government. On the other hand, sources said, the opposition parties have also offered key positions in the Sindh government.

Federal minister quits

Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid's (PML-Q) Tariq Bashir Cheema on Monday resigned as the Federal Minister for Housing soon after the top party leadership decided to support PM Imran Khan in the wake of the no-trust vote.

According to sources, Cheema had already informed his party's leadership regarding his resignation over his stance regarding the government.

They said that the lawmaker didn't want to support the incumbent government unlike his party, which had been supporting the latter from the beginning.

The sources also said that the PML-Q leader had adopted a strong stance against the ruling PTI, adding that he won't retreat from his principled stance against them.

Meanwhile, Cheema also took to Twitter to endorse his decision, saying: "I will vote against [PM] Imran."