PML-Q President Chaudhry Shujaat has expressed his desire to mend ties with PML-N, sources said Wednesday, as the political tensions increase after the Opposition’s no-confidence motion move.
The joint Opposition had, a day earlier, filed a no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Imran Khan, accusing him of mismanaging the economy and poor governance.
Following this, the Opposition has claimed that it has the backing of a majority of National Assembly lawmakers, while the government is confident of defeating the no-trust motion.
The PML-Q president — whose party is an ally of the PTI government in Punjab and the Centre — expressed the desire during a meeting with PPP Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari today and his separate meeting with Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman, sources told Geo News.
He also hoped that PML-N President Shahbaz Sharif would move on and forget the invitation he sent to the PML-Q leader, sources said. Shahbaz had invited Shujaat to dinner last week, but the PML-Q did not attend it.
Shujaat, according to sources, also told Zardari that he was ready to accept PPP’s conditions for electing a new chief minister in Punjab.
At this, Zardari told the PML-Q president that he was too late and that they had to look for other options after the party did not take a clear stance, sources said.
Zardari stressed that PML-Q accepted the dinner invitation of PML-N, but did not attend the dinner, which was against political ethics. “But since I respect you, I will speak to PML-N on your behalf.”
Separately, sources told Geo News that after this, Fazl to Shahbaz about the important development and now it is expected that PML-Q and PML-N’s top brass would meet soon.
Last month, after a 14-year hiatus, Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Shahbaz met PML-Q’s Chaudhry brothers — allies of the PTI-led government — at their residence, where he sought their support for the Opposition’s bid to oust the government.
