With the establishment apparently becoming neutral, Prime Minister Imran Khan has to depend on his own political skills to foil the opposition’s no-confidence move. The opposition parties have joined hands on a single point of making the move successful under the slogan of ‘now or never.’ What adds to the PM’s problems is how to ensure the support of the government allies as well as the PTI dissidents before the no-trust move.
While Mr Khan has assured Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar that he would retain the office till the end of the PTI’s tenure, Jahangir Tareen’s group will have no talks with the government till he is replaced. The PML(Q) has warned the PM against appointing Aleem Khan as the new Punjab CM. In case Imran Khan appoints Ch Pervez Elahi CM, the Tareen group is likely to part ways with him. Meanwhile the PML(Q) continues to change its posture in line with the evolving scenario. Earlier it had assured the PM that it would stand by him through thick and thin. Now PML(Q) leaders have made it known that in case of a large number of PTI MNAs voting against the PM, it might not remain possible for the PML(Q) to oppose the no-confidence move.
Mr Khan’s first ever visit to the MQM(P)’s Bahadurabad office as PM amounted to eating humble pie but turned out to be fruitless. The claim by PM’s Office regarding the MQM(P) assuring him of full support was contradicted by MQM(P) leader Amir Khan who said no discussion took place on the no-confidence motion and while his party was an ally of the government, “our options are open”.
Meanwhile at the end of the PPP’s 10-day long Awami March, Bilwal Bhutto Zardari announced that the no-trust motion was a democratic move and warned all facilitators and supporters of the PTI government not to interfere in politics to save the puppet PM.
On Wednesday the Rupee plummeted to all-time low of 178.6 against the dollar while the PSX fell below the 43,000-point level amid political and geopolitical uncertainties. Under the circumstances it is all the more necessary on the part of the government, opposition and establishment to act strictly according to the Constitution for an early resolution of the no-confidence move and a return to normalcy.
