Islamabad: Amidst the fast changing political situation and shifting of loyalties, one major development took place on Sunday - Speaker of Punjab Assembly Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi got the nod the opposition parties for Chief Minister’s post in Punjab. The joint opposition has reached an agreement to ensure that the no-trust move initiated by them against Prime Minister Imran Khan meets its logical end.
Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi is the senior leader and de facto head of the Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q), which is an important ally of the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI). He has earlier served as Chief Minister of the province during the military regime of Gen Pervez Musharraf.
Pervaiz’s cousin and head of the party Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain has also served as Prime Minister of the country under Gen Musharraf.
The PML-Q has 5 seats in the National Assembly and 10 members in the Punjab Assembly and in these ‘crucial’ times, falling afoul of the party can prove disastrous for the government.
In a recent visit of Prime Minister Imran Khan to the Chaudhrys’ house, the PML-Q had reportedly asked Khan to replace his hand-picked and much-criticised Chief Minister Punjab Usman Buzdar and consider Moonis Elahi, son of Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi and federal minister, as Buzdar’s replacement.
However, it was conveyed to the PML-Q that Moonis’ name would be considered after the government dealt with the no-trust move.
The party was given a written assurance by the PTI leadership that first it should support the government and defeat the no-trust move. However, the PML-Q leadership was not satisfied and doubted the promise.
Joint opposition’s consensus candidate
However, on Sunday, the electronic media reported that a consensus had been reached on Pervaiz Elahi’s name as the joint opposition’s candidate for Chief Minister of Punjab. Not only have the Jamiat Ulema Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) and the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) agreed to giving the captaincy of the province with largest population but the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), which is traditionally seen as the traditional rival of the party in the Punjab, also agreed to Pervaiz Elahi as CM.
“After a green signal by the former PM, who is also a leader of the PML-N, Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi’s name has been finalised for the top slot in the province,” said a senior leader of the PML-N.
However, according to the PML-Q spokesperson, a final decision in this regard would be announced by the party head Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain.
A meeting of the party’s central executive committee has been summoned and Chaudhry Shujaat will make a formal announcement after the meeting, said the party spokesperson on Sunday.
PML-Q still an ally
On the other hand, despite cracks visible within the ruling coalition, the PTI ministers continue to insist Imran Khan enjoys full support of allies.
In a post on social media, Information Minister Fawad Hussain said Prime Minister Imran Khan believed in direct one-on-one talks with the public and for this purpose he has been addressing different public rallies.
According to the PTI’s Senator Faisal Javed Khan, a big public meeting is planned in Islamabad on the call of Prime Minister Imran Khan in front of the Parliament.
The ‘historic’ public meeting will be held a day before the National Assembly debated and voted on the no-confidence motion so that Imran Khan’s rivals could realise the huge public trust Khan enjoys, said Fawad Chaudhry.
