PTI eyes support of old foes to remove Shah

Party does not want Khursheed Shah to continue as leader of the opposition but is in no position to bring any change.

ISLAMABAD:

As it appears to be part of an effort to discard Syed Khursheed Shah as opposition leader and look for a replacement, there is a hint that Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) is inclined to change it stance towards Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM).

PTI does not want Khursheed Shah of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) to continue as leader of the opposition in the National Assembly but is in no position to bring any change on its own. Imran Khan has accused that Shah has failed to deliver as leader of the opposition.

PTI chief further blamed the PPP of making an agreement with the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), and not giving them tough time. The key for change in this respect lies with the MQM which holds 24 seats in the lower house whose support is a must to replace Shah.

“Alliance with MQM would be like compromising on our stance,” a PTI official told The Express Tribune. Although the party leaders have decided in a meeting to nominate someone from within, it is still in a fix as nothing can be done without the support of MQM.



On Saturday, the PTI core committee held a session to weigh its options and decided that party would not nominate Awami Muslim League (AML) chief Sheikh Rashid Ahmed for the slot of opposition leader in NA.

Sheikh Rashid had earlier held a meeting with the PTI chief seeking his party’s support to replace Shah, however, Imran remained noncommittal, sources had revealed.

When contacted, Sheik Rasheed told The Express Tribune about extending his support to Imran if he competes for the slot. However, sources privy to the matter informed that PTI chief will not stand in the race for new opposition leader.

Responding to a question about his own chances of winning support from other parties in the opposition, Sheikh Rashid said, “I have got the indication that MQM will support me.”

MQM, on the other hand, has not taken any decision in this regard. “The MQM will decide when the question of new leader of the opposition would arise in NA,” Haider Abbas Rizvi of the MQM said while talking to The Express Tribune.

According to the rules, any member sitting on opposition benches can submit an application to Speaker National Assembly to be notified as leader of the opposition. Moreover, for that matter, the application should also include a list of opposition members with their signatures. The speaker, after confirmation, notifies the opposition leader.

During the core committee meeting, PTI decided to launch a protest campaign against the against the price hike that would start from November 1 in Punjab. The government’s decisions of raising electricity and gas prices and other such measures have resulted in unprecedented inflation and price hike, the party noted.

The party also decided that every single elected member of the PTI will disclose his financial assets and in this regard the tax returns of MPAs and MNAs would be uploaded on party website within a month.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 27^th, 2013.