Dissolution of assemblies: CM Pervaiz meets Imran Khan, vows to abide by decision

LAHORE: Ahead of the dissolution of assemblies, Punjab Chief Minister (CM) Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi has reaffirmed his support for Pakistan Tehreek-e- Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan, acknowledging that he owed his government to former prime minister, ARY News reported on Saturday.

According to details, the chief minister made these remarks during a meeting with former premier and PTI Chairman Imran Khan at the latter’s residence in Lahore’s Zaman Park.

The meeting comes just hours before the PTI chief is set to announce today the date for the dissolution of the Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) assemblies.

آج زمان پارک میں پاکستان تحریک انصاف کے چیئرمین عمران خان سے ملاقات کی-ملاقات میں اسمبلی کی تحلیل کے حوالے سے مشاورت کی گئی- عمران خان پنجاب اور خیبرپختونخوا کے وزرائے اعلی کو ساتھ بٹھا کر فیصلے کا اعلان کریں گے- pic.twitter.com/hDB2i8JOUu

— Ch Parvez Elahi (@ChParvezElahi) December 17, 2022

Moonis Elahi and MNA Hussain Elahi were also present on the occasion. Moreover, the meeting was attended by KP Chief Minister (CM) Mahmood Khan, Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Asad Umar, Fawad Chaudhry, Pervez Khattak and other PTI leaders.

During the meeting, matters related to dissolution of assemblies came under discussion. Imran Khan will announce the date of dissolution of assemblies along with Chief Ministers of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Speaking on occasion, the Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) leaders vowed to support ‘every’ decision made by the former prime minister. CM Pervaiz Elahi noted that he owed the Punjab government to Imran.

“We will support Imran’s every decision. We fully support those we choose to ally ourselves with,” the Punjab CM said, adding: “Those spreading rumours will fail as they did in the past.”

PML-N to table no-confidence

Earlier in the day, it was reported that Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) decided to table a no-confidence motion against Punjab Chief Minister Pervaiz Elahi and Punjab Assembly Speaker Muhammad Sibtain Khan.

According to the sources, 106 provincial lawmakers of the PML-N gathered at the residence of Rana Mashood where they signed the no-confidence motion against CM Elahi and Speaker Sibtain Khan. The party is likely to submit the motion in the next 36 hours, added sources.

It is pertinent to mention here that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) will hold a power show at Liberty Chowk in Lahore today (Saturday), wherein party chairman Imran Khan is expected to announce the date for the dissolution of the assemblies.

Dissolving assemblies

On December 15, the PTI Chairman announced to unveil date for the dissolution of the assemblies on December 17 in a key gathering on Lahore’s Liberty Chowk.

Imran Khan ended the confusion regarding the PTI’s stance on the dissolution of the assemblies. The PTI chief held an important session with the party’s senior leaders. Sources added that the PTI senior leaders suggested dissolving the Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) assemblies on the same date.

He said that he has received opinions from all party leaders. He added that he will not announce his decision as the time of consultation has concluded. Imran Khan announced that the assemblies will be dissolved in December.

The session also discussed the legal aspects of the assemblies’ dissolution. Dr Babar Awan briefed the constitutional and legal grounds of the upcoming move. Sources told ARY News that PTI is likely to announce the same date for dissolving the KP and Punjab assemblies.

After chairing the session, Imran Khan made the announcement to unveil the date for dissolving the provincial assemblies in Punjab and KP on December 17. He said that PTI will organise a gathering at Lahore’s Liberty Chowk on December 17 in which he will make the announcement.