Confident about the success of the opposition’s proposed no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Imran Khan, Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari has shared details of the power-sharing agreement between his party and the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) with Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) Ameer Siraj-ul-Haq during a meeting between them at Mansoorah on Thursday and sought the support of the latter on it.
“The assemblies will not be dissolved after the success of the motion. The PPP will choose National Assembly speaker seat and will not be the part of Shehbaz Sharif’s federal cabinet,” the former president told Siraj-ul-Haq during a one and half hour long meeting between them at JI headquarters.
Sharing inside conversation, sources told Minute Mirror that the PPP co-chairman suggested the name of Ch Parvez Elahi as replacement of Punjab chief minister Usman Buzdar to the PML-N.
“I hope they [the PML-N] will agree to the name of Chaudhry sahib [Ch Parvez Elahi],” he told the JI chief whose party, however, was reluctant to support the proposed motion.
A JI member of the National Assembly (MNA) from Chitral got significant importance due to a narrow number game between the government and the opposition in the lower house. Zardari visited Mansoorah for support.
“Your [JI] vote has key importance for the success of our motion,” Zardari said. In response, Siraj-ul-Haq told him that they would discuss the matter at JI’s Majlise Shura (central executive council), which was scheduled to start its three-day meeting on Friday.
“The JI will stay away from the contest,” a JI leader privy to the development told Minute Mirror.
Sources said Zardari also expressed a wish to develop an alliance with the JI in Sindh, an idea already proposed by PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto during his visit to Mansoorah few months back.
“Let’s make alliance at least first in Karachi,” Zardari made an offer to the JI.
The PPP has already ‘obliged’ the JI on the issue of Sindh local government act by agreeing to amend the laws on its demands, ignoring the major opposition protests in the province.
Zardari left Mansoorah for Karachi, concluding his weeks long Lahore stay that remained in limelight due to the political hype in the country.
Meanwhile, a statement issued by the JI media cell said Siraj-ul-Haq and Zardari agreed that the masses were badly affected and disturbed due to skyrocketing inflation and unemployment as the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) government’s incompetence and ill-conceived policies pushed the country towards economic and constitutional crises.
During a meeting between them at Mansoorah on Thursday, they also agreed that the continuation of the government policies would bring further disaster to all the sectors.
The former president visited the JI headquarters to discuss prevailing political situation with Siraj-ul-Haq. Former prime minister Raja Parvez Ashraf was part of the PPP delegation. JI Vice Ameer Liaqat Baloch, Secretary General Ameerul Azim, Secretary Information Qaisar Sharif and others were also present on occasion. Siraj-ul-Haq welcomed the guests and agreed to stay connected in future.
Siraj-ul-Haq said the PTI bypassed the parliament and introduced frequent presidential ordinances against the spirit of the constitution and democracy. The leaders of both the parties said the government instead of focusing on institution building and providing relief to the masses targeted the opposition parties. They believed the country could not move forward without the establishment of rule of law and strengthening democratic values.
Baloch and Parvez briefed the media after the meeting and said the contact among the political parties was a welcoming sign.
Baloch said the PPP had sought support of the JI for the major opposition parties’ proposed no-trust motion against the prime minister. The JI, he said, would decide on the issue after consultation, adding that bringing no-confidence was the constitutional right of the opposition parties.
He said the PTI government failed to provide any relief to the masses. The government policies, he said, created constitutional and economic crises in the country. He said Siraj-ul-Haq conveyed to the PPP leadership that the JI would not support any extra constitutional move and believed in the supremacy of the constitution. He said the contacts among the political parties were vital to strengthen the democracy.
Raja Parvez said the PPP had sought support of the JI for no-trust move against the prime minister. He said the opposition parties would send the incompetent government home.
