ISLAMABAD - Although Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf leadership downplayed the controversial ‘video-leak’ giving impression of differences within the ruling coalition in Punjab government, but the issue alarmed the rulers and invited intervention of the prime minister.
Sources in government informed The Nation that after the video leak, which Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid leaders termed inadvertent leak by some staffer at Punjab Assembly Speaker Ch Pervaiz Elahi’s residence, Prime Minister Imran Khan, who was in Lahore, immediately held meeting with Governor Ch Sarwar and his close aide and former secretary general of the party Jahangir Khan Tareen and asked them to resolve the issue immediately.
The development has acquired more significance as Senate elections on two seats in Punjab are due on November 15 and any division within the party’s parliamentarians in Punjab Assembly or any rift with the coalition partners could result in defeat of party’s candidates.
Sources aware of the behind-the-scene developments told The Nation that Jahangir Khan Tareen, though have no overt role in the party politics but from behind the scene still he is the mover and shaker of major things taking place in the party.
The sources said that Tareen held series of meetings with party MPAs and Chaudhrys from Gujrat to ensure that the minor irritants in the running of the governmental affairs should be handled smoothly.
The sources in the PML-Q said that Ch Pervaiz Elahi was not happy over the undue meddling of Governor Ch Sarwar in the government affairs in Punjab due to which not only the coalition partners but a large number of party MPAs had serious reservations and complaints.
Being the main coalition partner of PTI in Punjab, PML-Q leadership wanted some role in the governance of the province and the hurdles being created by Punjab Governor Ch Sarwar were not acceptable to them.
Insiders in the PTI said that senior minister in Punjab Cabinet Aleem Khan was also not comfortable the way the governor was overstepping his mandated role and meddling in the governmental affairs.
The sources said Prime Minister Imran Khan in his meeting with Ch Sarwar and Jahangir Tareen discussed the matter after which the governor came up with the statement that Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar was powerful and exercising his constitutional and administrative powers freely.
He also dispelled the impression of having some differences with Chaudhrys from Gujrat and said that he always enjoyed cordial and intimate relations with the family.
Prime Minister Khan tasked all party leadership from Punjab to ensure unity and cohesion within the ranks of the party and close coordination with the coalition partners as any rift within their ranks could only benefit their political opponents in the upcoming elections on two Senate seats from Punjab.
A general seat and a seat reserved for women had fallen vacant as Senator Haroon Akhtar and Senator Sadia Abbasi, both from Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, were disqualified by the apex court for not surrendering their dual nationality before taking oath of their offices.
Now, the main contest on these seats will once again be between PTI candidates Waleed Iqbal and Seemi Azdi against PML-N candidates Saud Majid and Saira Afzal Tarar.
It is interesting to note that after formation of PTI government in the Punjab, the ruling coalition, though slightly rather negligibly, lost some votes, especially in the last polling in the house was done on the Senate seat vacated by Governor Ch Sarwar.
The election was won by Dr Waseem Shahzad of PTI but the matter of concern for PTI was that around three votes from PTI were polled to the PML-N candidate and the margin of victory had slipped down to just 12 votes.
Earlier, in the Punjab Assembly speaker election, Ch Pervaiz Elahi had bagged 201 votes while the deputy speaker could secure 187 votes. Later, in the presidential election, PTI candidate Dr Arif Alvi bagged 186 votes.
Interestingly, PML-N’s nominee got maximum votes out of all the elections held in Punjab Assembly as Chaudhry Iqbal Gujjar, Waris Shad and Maulana Fazl ur Rehman got 147, 159 and 141 votes, respectively for the slot of speaker, deputy speaker and president of Pakistan.
Online adds: Prime Minister Imran Khan has summoned an important meeting of the allied parties on November 14.