PTI offers Pervaiz Elahi Punjab assembly speakership: sources

ISLAMABAD: With the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) claiming to have secured the required strength to form a government in Punjab, PML-Q leader Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi, whose party is a coalition partner of the government-in-waiting, is likely to be appointed as speaker of Punjab Assembly.

Party insiders told ARY News that the PTI has proposed to appoint the PML-Q leader as speaker of Punjab Assembly while party leader Aleem Khan has emerged as front runner for the coveted post of Punjab chief minister.

PTI leader Yasmeen Rashid is also said to be in the race for the CM slot and could be installed as the chief executive of the province in case Mr. Khan is counted out of the race owing to pending National Accountability Bureau (NAB) cases against him.

A day earlier, PTI leader Fawad Chaudhry claimed his party is now in a position to form the government both at the Centre and the country’s most populous province Punjab with the help of independents and small coalition partners.

He added that at least 10 MPAs-elect from Punjab and 12 MNAs-elect have joined the PTI in the last week, paving the way for the party to form the new government in the Centre and the province.

Chaudhry, however, made it clear that “the Chief Minister Punjab will be from the PTI”.

It is pertinent to note here that the PTI has emerged as the largest political party in the country after the July 25 general elections, winning 115 of the 270 National Assembly seats on which the elections were held.

PTI chief Imran Khan is likely to take oath as country’s prime minister on August 11.