LAHORE: Punjab Assembly Speaker Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi will compete with Opposition Leader in the Punjab Assembly Hamza Shehbaz for the Punjab chief minister slot as the Punjab governor on Friday accepted the resignation of Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar after which the provincial cabinet was also dissolved.
Buzdar shall continue to hold office until his successor is elected by the Punjab Assembly. Usman Buzdar, a surprise choice by Prime Minister Imran Khan for the slot of the chief minister four years ago, had to resign eventually after demands of his removal from a rebel group of PTI MPAs supporting Jehangir Khan Tareen.The revolt of the Tareen group MPAs and MNAs in Punjab has even brought the Imran Khan government in the Centre on the verge of collapse.
Meanwhile, the Punjab governor also summoned the Punjab Assembly session on Saturday (today) after the resignation of the chief minister. The PTI (Imran Khan’s group) has nominated Pervaiz Elahi as its candidate while Hamza Shehbaz is a joint candidate of the united opposition.
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Usman Buzdar served as the chief minister from August 2018 to April 2022. Now, the PTI government is facing the real test to protect its government in the Centre, especially after its coalition partner, the MQM-P, has joined the united opposition.
On the other hand, the PMLN, with the support of most MPAs of Jehangir Tareen’s group, is also confident of bagging the top slot in Punjab.
