From Our Correspondent
LAHORE: PML-Q, a key ally of PTI-led government both at the Centre and in Punjab, has assured the prime minister of their full support to foil the opposition’s no-trust move, it has been learnt on Tuesday.
The statement comes after PM Imran Khan met with the top leadership of PML-Q including Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain and Punjab Assembly Speaker Pervaiz Elahi at their residence in Lahore today.
According to a statement issued by the PML-Q following the meeting, Chaudhry brothers informed the premier about their recent meeting with Opposition Leader in the National Assembly Shehbaz Sharif.
The PML-Q leaders told Shehbaz that if opposition’s bid to remove PM Imran foiled then their political future “would look bleak”, as per the statement. “What is the use of such a trick which has no chance of success?”
The PML-Q leadership assured PM Imran that the attempts of no-confidence motion were nothing more than a “myth”.
PM Imran reportedly inquired after the health of former premier and PML-Q chief Chaudhry Shujaat and discussed the overall political situation of the country in today’s meeting. The premier is currently in Lahore on a day-long visit to the Punjab capital.
The prime minister was accompanied by a delegation comprising Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar, federal ministers Hammad Azhar and Fawad Chaudhry, commerce adviser Abdul Razak Dawood and PTI lawmaker Amir Dogar among others. PML-Q leaders including federal minister Moonis Elahi, Punjab Assembly Speaker Pervaiz Elahi, Chaudhry Salik Hussain and others were also present.
The insiders added that the prime minister has also decided to meet other PTI government allies following his meeting with the PML-Q leadership. He will also meet MQM-P and Balochistan Awami Party (BAP) leaders soon, they added.
Moreover, PM Imran has also intensified contacts with the party lawmakers. During his visit to Lahore, the prime minister held a meeting with the elected PTI parliamentarians from four divisions of Punjab. Sources also said that the prime minister has taken charge of efforts to foil the opposition movement.
PML-Q has recently held several meetings with opposition parties including PPP, PML-N and others.
Pakistan Democratic Alliance (PDM), the anti-government opposition alliance, last month announced bringing a no-confidence motion against PM Imran.
Subsequently, PDM along with major opposition party PPP stepped up its efforts to garner support for no-trust motion.
Apart from wooing the government allies, the opposition has been banking its support on the ruling party’s lawmakers that they would revolt against their party and support the opposition on no-confidence motion.
In a major development last month, PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif after a hiatus of 14 years called on PML-Q leadership to seek their support for no-trust vote against PM Imran in National Assembly.
However, Federal Minister for Water Resources Moonis Elahi assured the PTI government that PML-Q was an ally of the government and would stand by it in any political situation as it had confidence in the leadership abilities of Prime Minister Imran.
The minister belonging to PML-Q also cleared the air on opposition parties’ back-to-back meetings with his party leadership, saying his party has not assured support to any opposition party on their no-confidence move against the premier.
It was revealed yesterday that PM Imran also spoke to estranged PTI leader Jahangir Tareen over the phone after a long hiatus and inquired after his health.
Speaking to a local TV channel, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi however downplayed the premier’s contact with the ailing disgruntled leader, saying PM Imran called his former close aide as a “goodwill gesture” after he fell ill.
According to the media reports, the premier telephoned Tareen before his departure to London, where he had flown to reportedly for medical treatment.
