Imran Khan advised against dissolving Punjab assembly: sources

ISLAMABAD/LAHORE: PTI Punjab lawmakers have advised party chief Imran Khan against dissolving the provincial assembly immediately due to the ongoing projects, Geo News reported Thursday citing sources. 

Sources revealed that the development came after the party's high-level committee submitted a report in relation to the dissolution of the Punjab Assembly to Khan.

The Punjab lawmakers advised Khan not to immediately dissolve the assembly, citing the ongoing development projects in their constituencies as their reason, the sources said.

Khan — who called off his long march to Islamabad last week — has announced quitting assemblies across the country, including Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab.

Earlier, PTI Senior Vice President Fawad Chaudhry announced that the party's leadership had approved the dissolution of assemblies in both provinces, but the final decision will be made after further consultations.

The report regarding the dissolution of the Punjab Assembly was put before a meeting today which was chaired by PTI Vice Chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi. Party leaders Mian Aslam Iqbal, Mian Mehmood-Ur-Rasheed, Hammad Azhar, Ejaz Chaudhry, and others attended the meeting.

As per the report, according to sources, some lawmakers have advised against the immediate dissolution of the Punjab Assembly as they believe development tenders worth billions of rupees have been opened and multiple projects are near completion in their constituencies.

The lawmakers have also recommended that the timing of the political move should be effective so that it pushes the federal government to call general polls, sources said.

Moreover, to hold further consultations, the PTI chief has summoned a session of the PTI's Sindh and Balochistan parliamentary parties on Sunday.

The sources added that the decision regarding the dissolution or PTI quitting all assemblies would be made by the PTI chief after the session of their parliamentary parties on Sunday.

Khan has also tasked the party's legal team to analyse the legal aspects of the matter and prepare for any predictable complications.

CM Punjab meets Khan

Later in the day, Punjab Chief Minister Pervaiz Elahi and senior PTI leader Pervaiz Khattak briefly met one-on-one before the PML-Q leader's meeting with the PTI chief.

CM Punjab reiterated support and loyalty to Khan, claiming his party would counter any manoeuvres attempted by the coalition allies, including a vote of no confidence or the imposition of governor's rule.

Elahi added that PDM is an "incompetent" group and that Khan has left them "clueless" through his political moves. The opposition neither has the numbers nor the courage to file a motion of no confidence in the Punjab Assembly, the CM added.

After meeting with the CM Punjab, Khattak held a meeting with the PTI chief to discuss the political scenario. The PTI chief took the former premier into confidence regarding multiple ongoing issues, sources said.

CM Punjab and PML-Q leader Chaudhry Monis Elahi met with the PTI chief in Zaman Park Lahore to discuss the possible dissolution of assemblies.

The three leaders discussed the dissolution of assemblies, the possibility of a no-confidence motion, or a demand for a vote of confidence by Governor Punjab, sources added.