In Pakistan, Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar has resigned from his post. Usman Buzdar is the leader of PTI. With this, the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party of Prime Minister Imran Khan, facing a no-confidence vote, has declared PML-Q leader Chaudhry Pervez Elahi as its candidate for the Chief Minister of Punjab.
Imran Khan has thrown a googly to save his chair by getting the resignation of Punjab CM. This move is expected to save Imran’s government. In fact, with PML-Q party leader Pervez Elahi being made the CM, he can now give his support to Imran Khan in return.
Will Imran Khan’s chair survive?
Pakistan’s Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Farooq Habib said that Usman Buzdar has submitted his resignation to Prime Minister Imran Khan. Habib further said that the PML-Q has decided to support the government in the no-confidence motion moved against PM Imran by the joint opposition.
These major developments come less than an hour after the opposition formally moved a no-confidence motion against PM Imran in Pakistan’s National Assembly. Meanwhile, PML-Q leader Tariq Bashir Cheema, speaking to Geo News, confirmed that he has resigned from the federal cabinet and will support the opposition on the no-confidence vote.
No-confidence motion was also presented against Buzdar
The opposition had moved a no-confidence motion on Monday not only against Imran Khan but also against his close aide and Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar. The no-confidence motion against Buzdar was moved in haste to thwart the PTI government’s possible plan to dissolve the Punjab Assembly in the event of the removal of the Prime Minister. However, now Punjab CM has resigned.
Opposition parties Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) submitted the no-confidence motion against 52-year-old Buzdar which was signed by 127 MLAs. Apart from this, 120 MLAs signed the application for convening the session in 14 days. The no-confidence motion states that Chief Minister Buzdar has lost the confidence of the House. After submitting the no-confidence motion, PML-N legislator Rana Mashhood said the opposition would also move a no-confidence motion against National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser and Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani. Rana said that it is clearly visible that Imran and Buzdar will not be able to face the no-confidence motion, so the only way for both of them to take a respectful farewell is to resign.
Imran’s troubles are increasing continuously
Let us tell you that on March 8, the opposition parties submitted a no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Imran Khan before the Secretariat of the Pakistan Parliament (National Assembly). The opposition had alleged that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party government led by Imran Khan was responsible for rising inflation and economic crisis in the country. Since then, there has been a cloud of uncertainty in the politics of the country. The opposition had requested the Speaker of the House to convene the session within 14 days. However, the session was called on March 25, three days after the deadline, but the Speaker refused to allow the motion to be moved. There is a possibility that the opposition will get a chance to move the motion on Monday. The country’s Home Minister Sheikh Rashid told reporters that a decision on the no-confidence motion would be taken on March 31 and Prime Minister Imran Khan was not going anywhere.
Why has the mercury of Pakistan’s politics increased?
Pakistan’s political temperature seems to be rising due to the no-confidence motion brought against the Imran Khan government on March 8, the result of which can be seen by the end of next week. The opposition would need 172 votes in the 342-member National Assembly to topple the Imran government. The 69-year-old Khan came to power in 2018 with a promise to create a ‘Naya Pakistan’, but he failed to tackle the fundamental problems that gave the opposition an opportunity to attack. The PTI has 155 members in the National Assembly and they too will need 172 members to save the government.