PTI to quit PA if CM Elahi fails to seek trust vote, imran tells party leaders
LAHORE - As differences emerge between the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and the Pakistan Muslim League-Q over the issue of confidence vote, PTI chairman Imran Khan has asked the party leaders to ensure that the Punjab chief minister takes a vote of confidence from the assembly before the next court hearing due on January 11.
Ch Parvez Elahi on Thursday announced not to obtain the trust vote terming the governor’s advice illegal. The PTI, on the other hand, wants the chief minister to take the trust vote before January 11 to establish its point before the Lahore High Court that their chief minister enjoyed the confidence of the Assembly and hence there was no need to prolong the case any further. The PTI sources disclosed on Friday that Imran Khan direct ed the party leaders to send a clear message to Ch Parvez Elahi that he should seek the trust vote before the LHC resumes hearing on his petition against the governor’s orders. The PTI is expecting the court to direct the chief minister to show majority in the House as he had now got sufficient time to contact and assemble the lawmakers supporting him.
Also, in a related development, the PTI has decided that all its members in the Punjab Assembly will resign enmasse if hurdles are created in the dissolution of the assembly. According to sources, the PTI is keeping in view two likely scenarios that may prevent the assembly’s dissolution. The first possibility in this regard is that the chief minister fails to seek a confidence vote before or after the court decision; and the second one can be that the chief minister succeeds in getting the majority vote and does not give advice to the governor for the assembly’s dissolution. “In either case, all the party lawmakers would resign enmasse from their membership and the speaker who belongs to the PTI will instantly accept their resignations leaving Ch Parvez Elahi at the mercy of the PML-N and the PPP.
Meanwhile, the PTI has managed to win back a woman MPA belonging to the Majlise Wahdat-e-Muslimeen (MWM), an allied party of the PTI in Punjab, KPK and Gilgit Baltistan. The MWM leadership had earlier announced that Syeda Zahra Naqvi would not be voting for Ch Parvez Elahi in the trust vote as members of their community had been expelled from the Quran and Ulema boards.
The development comes after a delegation of MWM led by Raja Nasir called on PTI chairman Imran at his Zaman Park residence and the latter assured them to address their reservations before the trust vote. Talking to The Nation, the MWM spokesperson Muzahir Shigri confirmed that his party’s MPA would be voting for Ch Parvez Elahi as the PTI chief had pledged to fulfil their demands. He, however, said that MWM MPA would tender her resignation from the assembly seat if their reservations are not addressed before the confidence vote. Meanwhile, speaking in the context of his Thursday’s statement that there was no need to get a confidence vote from the assembly, Punjab Chief Minister Ch Parvez Elahi said that Imran Khan does not mind whatever he says. “It is because what I say [about the PTI] proves correct later on”, he said while addressing convocation at the University of Punjab. “If I see anything wrong, then I always say it in front of him and he does not mind” Elahi further stated.
Parvez Elahi also praised Imran Khan as a leader who was not a coward and would not bend under any pressure. “He is a true, upright man”, he said. Meanwhile, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan Friday alleged that even the new establishment is not acting as neutral as the party MPAs were being asked to abstain from voting during the vote of confidence.
“They are approaching our people, and at least three of our MPAs have informed me about it”, Imran Khan reportedly told a delegation of court reporters that called on him at his residence here.
Imran Khan reiterated his stance that his party was not fighting against the establish ment but struggling to get justice. The PTI chief said that PTI and its allies were preparing for the trust vote if the court so directed the chief minister. Commenting on the difference of opinion among the coalition partners, Imran Khan said that PTI and the PML-Q were two different parties in a political alliance to form a government. “Parvez Elahi has his own stance about former army chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa. But he cannot force the PTI leadership to change its stance [on Gen. Bajwa], he asserted.
He also made it clear that the PTI will not step back from its narrative and will continue to expose the people who plunged the country into the present crisis through regime change.