PTI lawmaker claims '50% MNAs don't want to resign'

Nasir Khan Musazai, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf's (PTI) member of the National Assembly, Monday claimed that 50% of the party's lawmakers do not want to resign and also revealed that Punjab Chief Minister Chaudhry Parvez Elahi is not in favour of dissolving the provincial assembly.

Shafay Hussain, Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) President Chaudhry Shujaat's son, on Sunday claimed that the provincial chief minister first asked his father to get in touch with the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N). However, CM Elahi later sided with PTI Chairman Imran Khan.

"A few weeks ago it seemed like Elahi was coming back, but he went to Imran Khan," the PML-Q leader said.

Musazai said that PTI lawmakers want to join other political parties. “Imran Khan committed a 'suicide attack' on his facilitators. He build up our hopes in 2018,” the parliamentarian claimed while speaking with Geo News.

He added that the PTI chief, in his criticism spree, did not spare anyone including the establishment, judges and politicians.

For the past several months, the former prime minister — who was ousted after a no-confidence motion in the National Assembly in April 2022 — has been incessantly and blatantly critcising the ex-chief of army staff General (retd) Qamar Javed Bajwa and other military officials for not continuing to support his government.

The member of the lower house of parliament went on to say that he supported the deposed prime minister for his Riyasat-e-Madinah rhetoric, but he wasn’t able to deliver. “Only ulemas [religious clerics] could do such work,” he stated.

Musazai further said that in their bid to stop him from quitting the party, the PTI leaders — including former NA speaker Asad Qaiser — contacted the lawmaker. He also claimed receiving a “threat alert” from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Mahmood Khan.

“KP CM Mahmood Khan informed me regarding a threat alert on WhatsApp two days ago. He told me to quit politics and save myself,” he shared, adding that the chief minister advised him to make special safety arrangements for himself.

“The chief minister may have sent me the threat alert with good intentions,” Musazai added.

A day earlier, a spokesperson of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) said that the PTI NA member will join their party claiming that the lawmaker met JUI-F Senator Maulana Atta-ur-Rehman, who invited him to join the party.

It was also reported that Musazai announced joining the JUI-F after meeting its chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman recently.