ISLAMABAD: Following a day-long visit to Karachi, Prime Minister Imran Khan on Thursday arrived in Lahore to woo disgruntled lawmakers of the ruling PTI ahead of voting on the no-trust motion —filed by the Opposition in the National Assembly Secretariat.
Federal ministers Asad Umar, Shafqat Mahmood, Hammad Azhar, Khusro Bakhtiar, Shah Mahmood Qureshi are accompanied by the prime minister during the visit.
The premier's Lahore visit has also assumed importance in the wake of threats to Usman Buzdar due to the Jahangir Tareen group which has demanded his removal.
On Wednesday, PM Imran had arrived in Karachi to meet MQM-P to seek their assurance. Both, PTI and MQM-P, had made contradictory statements after the PM’s meeting. Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi had claimed that MQM-P had assured them of full support on the no-trust motion against the government. While MQM-P was of the view that the no-trust motion was not even discussed in the “10-minute” meeting.
Soon after his arrival in Lahore, PM Imran held an important meeting with Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar and Governor Chaudhry Sarwar.
During the meeting with the duo, the prime minister said that his government is “stable and confident” on the political front.
Matters related to administrative issues in the province, development projects, no-confidence motion, and the country’s current political situation were discussed in the meeting. Speaking on the occasion, PM Imran said that a decision regarding Punjab’s political situation will be made after a detailed consultation.
PM Imran will also hold meetings with all the parliamentary members of the ruling party, including the minority members. Matters related to the no-confidence motion and Tareen's group will also be discussed in the meetings.
It is pertinent to mention here that the prime minister, during the trip, will also meet provincial ministers Samsam Bukhari and Asif Nakai, who are members of the Tareen group.
During the day-long tour, PM Imran will also chair PTI Punjab chapter parliamentary party meeting. On the other hand, the Tareen group had announced to boycott the PTI’s parliamentary party meeting.
Prime Minister's visit came a day after a delegation headed by Tareen group’s provincial minister Nauman Langrial called on PML-Q leader and Punjab Assembly Speaker Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi at his residence.
The delegation comprised provincial minister Ajmal Cheema, Aun Chaudhry, Lala Tahir Randhawa, Abdul Hayyi Dasti and Imran Shah. During the meeting, detailed consultation was held regarding the prevailing political situation in Punjab.
Elahi and Tareen's group agreed to continue contacts for the betterment of the province and the people.
Langrial said that Punjab had been destroyed and the group would have to come to the fore in the interest of the people as they had decided to remove Usman Buzdar.
He called upon Pervaiz Elahi to support them in this regard. He said that he would also call on Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain soon.