LAHORE: Former information minister and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Fawad Chaudhry on Tuesday asserted that his party and Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) would thwart opposition’s attempt to oust Punjab Chief Minister (CM) Pervaiz Elahi through no-confidence motion.
On Saturday, PTI Chairman Imran Khan announced that his governments in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa will dissolve their assemblies on December 23 to pave the way for fresh elections.
After days of hectic politicking, the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) alliance on Monday sprang its own trap to limit the options available to Parvez ahead of the announced provincial assembly dissolution.
Punjab Governor Balighur Rehman asked the chief minister to obtain a vote of confidence from the Punjab Assembly (PA) on Wednesday (tomorrow), while PML-N and PPP lawmakers submitted a separate no-trust resolution against him in a bid to bar him from dissolving the assembly.
Under the law, the chief minister cannot dissolve the assembly if a no-confidence motion has been moved against him, while the governor’s requirement for the chief minister to seek a vote of confidence from the house means he has to ensure that he manages to secure 186 votes on Wednesday.
Speaking to journalists in Lahore, the former federal minister said that PTI and PML-Q are and will always remain allies, vowing to thwart opposition’s attempt to oust Punjab Chief Minister (CM) Pervaiz Elahi through no-confidence motion.
“We have decided that the PTI and PML-Q were and will remain allies and face this vote of confidence and no-confidence together,” he said, adding that the alliance had a total strength of 190 members.
He said the parliamentary parties of the two political entities will hold meetings on Wednesday and Thursday and repose their trust in CM Parvez.
“The no-trust move against the chief minister would fail,” the former minister said, noting that the Punjab Assembly would be dissolved soon after the failure of the opposition’s attempt.
Fawad Chaudhry also lambasted Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) for ‘running away’ from the general elections, saying that they don’t have the courage to face public. “The government does not have enough money to buy oil to generate electricity”, he added.
