‘Advise dissolution of assembly’ if PML-N govt facing threat: PPP to PM

ISLAMABAD: As the coalition government's fate hangs in the balance ahead of the Supreme Court’s detailed verdict on reserved seats, Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Secretary General Nayyar Hussain Bukhari said on Sunday that his party was ready for fresh elections if the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) was sensing any threat.

The statement follows a notable rise in the federal government’s loaded frustration, evident from its subdued criticism of the Supreme Court for delaying its detailed verdict on reserved seats. This trend can jeopardise the ruling coalition's two-thirds majority in the National Assembly, according to political observers.

"If there is a danger," said Bukhari while talking to a private news channel, adding: "[...] then the Prime Minister should advise dissolving parliament and going for new elections."

He questioned the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leadership for not "sharing details with the PPP if it is facing any danger."

The politician said that his party — the major coalition partner of the PML-N government in the Centre — was ready to strengthen the ruling party in parliament, but it has to deliver.

Criticising the embattled Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), Bukhari said that President Asif Ali Zardari had many times offered to mediate and help negotiate political disputes. "But, someone should express willingness to sit and talk."

The former Senate chairman alleged that PTI founder Imran Khan was an "untrustworthy man who takes U-turns in politics as a matter of pride."

Throwing shade at the incarcerated former premier's recent statements, he further said that Imran had shown his readiness to hold negotiations with the establishment and announced authorising senior politician Mahmood Khan Achakzai to talk, but later he stepped back from his affirmations.

Bukhari said that the Bilawal-led party believed in constitutional supremacy and that every solution should be derived from the Constitution.

He also warned that the country would suffer severe consequences if the system were derailed.

Concerns are growing for the coalition government after the reserved seats' verdict which resurrected the Imran-founded party in the national and provincial assemblies.

Federal Information Minister Ataullah Tarar expressed concerns over the delay in the issuance of the detailed verdict of the top court's July 12 ruling while calling for a discourse on the dissenting note of two judges earlier today.

Referring to the 29-page dissenting note written by Justices Amin-Ud-Din Khan and Naeem Akhtar Afghan, who were part of the full court bench, Tarar said that the issues raised in the said document should be duly discussed.

Tarar's remarks refer to the apex court's last month's ruling wherein it had declared the PTI eligible for reserved seats of women and minorities in the assemblies after overturning the decisions of the Peshawar High Court (PHC) and the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).

Since the top court's ruling, the ECP has notified 39 out of 80 Members of the National Assembly (MNAs) as PTI members along with 93 lawmakers in Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Sindh assemblies as "returned candidates" of the former ruling party.

After the fragmentary implementation, the commission approached the apex court two weeks ago, seeking legal and constitutional guidance on the matter of the remaining PTI lawmakers in the national and provincial assemblies.

Meanwhile, the PML-N and its key ally the PPP have filed review pleas on the full court's 8-5 majority order.