PTI stalwarts back dissolution

The majority of the senior Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leaders are in favour of dissolving the provincial assemblies in January even if the Lahore High Court (LHC) does not ask Punjab Chief Minister Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi to get a vote of confidence, sources said on Tuesday.

The party stalwarts, during a meeting with PTI Chairman Imran Khan expressed apprehensions that if the Punjab Assembly was not dissolved soon, the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) might postpones the general elections due this year.

PTI Senior Vice Chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Senior Vice President Fawad Chaudhry and others attended the meeting with Imran to prepare strategy for dissolution of the Punjab Assembly after the LHC proceedings in the Punjab chief minister’s de-notification case.

A majority of them suggested for dissolving the assemblies irrespective of the court’s decision in the de-notification case, according to sources. Imran agreed with their observations and said that it was necessary to dissolve the Punjab Assembly as soon as possible to maintain the pressure on the government, they added.

The meeting also discussed matter pertaining to the seat adjustment with the Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) for the new general election. The meeting was informed that the matter would be finalised soon, the sources said.

Meanwhile, the PTI chief chaired another meeting with the divisional coordinators of Punjab to discuss the chief minister’s vote of confidence. The meeting was also attended by Qureshi, Asad Umar, the PTI general secretary, Usman Buzdar, PTI Parliamentary Leader in Punjab Assembly and Senator Ejaz Chaudhry.
Addressing the participants, Imran asked them to ensure that the all their provincial legislators were present in the Punjab Assembly if the court asked the chief minister to take the vote of confidence. “Our preparations must be complete and no conspiracy should stop them,” he added.

While appreciating the performance of the PTI Punjab parliamentary party, Imran noted that the treasury benches defeated the opposition, once again on Monday by passing 21 bills. On this occasion, the divisional coordinators briefed Imran about their liaison with the provincial legislators.