LAHORE:The opposition parties also submitted a no-confidence motion against PTI-led Punjab Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar in the Punjab Assembly Secretariat on Monday, creating a political polarization in the country.
Punjab Assembly Speaker Pervez Elahi is bound to summon the assembly session within 14 days after the submission of the motion. However, the chief minister cannot dissolve the provincial assembly once the motion is submitted. CM Buzdar needs support of 182 members out of total 371 lawmakers to foil no-trust move against him.
MPAs Rana Mashood and Samiullah Khan submitted the motion. A total of 127 lawmakers had signed the no-trust motion while 120 had signed the requisition notice. PTI has 183 MPAs in the Punjab Assembly followed by Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) 165, PML-Q 10 members and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) seven members while there are seven independents members that may be lured to the opposition.
The total strength of PML-N and PPP in the Punjab Assembly stands at 172 while PML-Q gave the decision making power to provincial assembly Speaker Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi pertaining to no-trust move. Reportedly, PML-N leader Nawaz Sharif has accepted the condition of PML-Q for Punjab chief minister slot in order to get latter’s support for no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Imran Khan.
Talking to journalists, MPA Rana Mashood said that CM Buzdar and Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan have limited days left in the office due to the no-confidence motion filed against them. The MPA also said that there has been bad governance and record corruption in the province. He added: “Now is the time to hold Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) accountable for their wrongdoings.”
The spokesperson of the Punjab government and special assistant to CM Usman Buzdar has said that the provincial government would strongly fight the opposition’s no-confidence motion against Chief Minister Buzdar. Spokesperson Hasan Khawar said that the chief minister was in constant touch with the Punjab Assembly members and enjoyed full confidence of his MPAs.