Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) leader Pervaiz Elahi has said that the party has neither quit the government nor has it joined the opposition in the no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Imran Khan.
The statement of the PML-Q leader came on Wednesday amid display of banners in Lahore calling for Pervaiz Elahi, who is also the Punjab Assembly speaker, calling for his appointment as the chief minister of the province. These banners coincided with a statement he made during an interview wherein he had said that Prime Minister Imran was in trouble.
“Imran Khan is 100 percent in trouble, as all allies are on the opposition side,” he had said.
“The government 100 percent lacks wisdom and understanding. The prime minister has a great desire for revenge, which is evident from the fact that he puts everyone in NAB [National Accountability Bureau]. There are no such ways to govern,” he continued.
“We are coalition partners and a separate political party,” a statement issued by Elahi on Wednesday said.
There were differences of opinions within a political party but decisions were taken through consultation. PM Imran was an honest leader and his intentions were good, he added.
“We have neither exited the coalition nor have we joined the opposition. We are a part of the government and have stood by it through thick and thin,” he maintained.
The PML-Q raised its voice on matters of public interest from the very first day. He advised the government to take a decision after consulting allies for its own good.
The Punjab Assembly speaker acknowledged the opposition’s claim that it had more votes than the number required for the adoption of the no-confidence motion.
“The opposition is right to say that they have more people. And ‘surprises’ have yet to come,” the former Punjab chief minister said.
Coming back to the government, Elahi said that there was a remarkable number of ineptitude people among the ruling elite. “They take politics as a game,” he said, adding that Prime Minister Imran was “too late” now because the cracks in the ruling coalition had widened.
The PML-Q leader had also revealed that PM Imran had offered the PML-Q to merge with the PTI.
He said that Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid was still fond of Prime Minister Imran, therefore, he had forgot the closeness with the Chaudhry brothers.
THE BANNER: As the political temperature rises in the country, pictures of posters and banners showing Punjab Assembly Speaker Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi as a candidate for the provincial chief minister’s slot emerged on social media on Wednesday.
The posters have appeared as the government is trying to win over the coalition parties who have expressed their reservations over Punjab’s current chief executive Usman Buzdar.
The posters were first spotted outside PML-Q’s headquarters and can now be seen on Lahore’s major thoroughfares.
“Punjab is helpless, Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi as chief minister is a necessity,” the poster reads.