Will resign from ministries if opposition’s alliance joined: Pervez Elahi

LAHORE: Pakistan Muslim League-Q leader and Speaker Punjab Assembly Pervez Elahi has said the party has agreed that the present assemblies will complete their term.

In an informal conversation with journalists, Elahi said that a meeting with Shehbaz Sharif could take place at any time and Prime Minister Imran Khan should continue his efforts. He said the party will resign from ministries if they choose to side with the opposition’s alliance.

“We have taken our final decisions but we are still holding final consultations with our friends. We will tender resignations from our ministries if we choose to join the opposition alliance,” he said, after chairing the PML-Q parliamentary session to decide on the no-confidence motion.

He added that the constitution and law is clear and the speaker of the National Assembly should abide by it. He said that PML-Q, MQM and Balochistan Awami Party (BAP) are working together. He added a meeting was held with Awn Chaudhry of the Jehangir Tareen group and they will know of their final stance soon.

Earlier, a consultative meeting of the PML-Q on the issue of no-confidence motion was held in which relations with the opposition and the government discussed. The meeting concluded that PTI allies are not satisfied with the federal government’s performance and the PML-Q will have to make its own political decision.

The statement comes after a major development that the opposition has agreed to give Chief Minister Punjab’s slot to PML-Q leader Pervaiz Elahi in exchange for the party’s support for the no-confidence motion against the prime minister.

According to sources and media reports, the opposition parties have agreed over giving the chief minister ‘s post Pervaiz Elahi after the success of the no-confidence move against the prime minister.

The Opposition parties are also expected to make an announcement regarding this decision in a couple of days. It is also being reported that a session of the National Assembly for the no-confidence motion is likely to be called on March 22.