Daily Times

Although Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) has claimed to achieve the required number of votes to form its government in Punjab, the party has yet to name the candidate for the top slot of the province which is for the position of Punjab chief minister.

As many as 149 directly elected Members of Provincial Assembly (MPAs) out of 297 are required for any party to form its government in the province but PTI could only manage to win 123 MPA seats, whereas Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz won 129 MPA seats in the recently held general elections. However, PTI has successfully managed to win over 22 out of 28 independently elected MPAs from the province owing to the hectic efforts of Jehangir Khan Tareen while eight MPAs of the Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PMLQ) would also support PTI after a meeting was held between PML-Q President Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain and PTI Chairman Imran Khan at Banigala in Islamabad in which former deputy prime minister Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi was promised the office of Punjab Assembly speaker in exchange for eight MPAs of PML-Q to form the government in Punjab.

The independent MPAs who have pledged their support to PTI so far to form its government in Punjab include Raja Saghir Ahmed, Syed Saeedul Hassan Shah, Ghulam Rasool Sangha, Ameer M Khan, Saeed Akbar Khan, Taimur Laali, Muhammad Ajmal Cheema, Muhammad Umar Farooq, Rai Taimur Bhatti, Mehr Aslam Bharwana, Faisal Hayat, Khawar Shah, Hussain Jahanian Gardezi, Sheikh Salman Naeem, Fida Hussain, Shaukat Lalika, Sardar Abdul Haye Dasti, Basit Bukhari, Khurram Leghari, Tahir Mahmood Randhawa, Syed Rafaqat Ali Gillani and Muhammad Hanif Pitafi. The tally of PTI has reached to 153 if 22 independents and eight PML-Q MPAs are added to 123 numbers from Punjab that show that PTI is in a strong position to form its government in the province.

Many names for CM Punjab slot are circulating in the media for the past few days including that of Dr Yasmin Rashid, PTI Central Punjab President Aleem Khan, former leader of the opposition in Punjab Assembly Mian Mahmoodur Rasheed and Fawad Chaudhry. PTI Vice Chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi is also in the race as he wants to become CM Punjab by getting elected in the by-elections from one of the Provincial Assembly seats from Punjab and some party insiders think that any other MPA from Punjab can be made CM for some days until Shah Mahmood Qureshi becomes MPA in the by-election. Some new names also appeared on Thursday including Sibtain Khan from Mianwali, Mian Aslam Iqbal from Lahore and Raja Yasir Humayun from Chakwal. Some party insiders informed that any young face including Raja Yasir Humayun and Mian Aslam Iqbal may get the coveted office of Punjab for some days until the by-election of Qureshi to become an MPA from Punjab as Imran Khan has reservations over the name of Aleem Khan who has already been summoned by NAB on August 8.

“Let’s pray for good news as the party would finalise the name in a day or two after deliberations,” Aslam Iqbal said while talking exclusively to Daily Times.

He confirmed that his name is also under consideration for Punjab CM but final decision would be taken by Imran himself.

Published in Daily Times, August 3^rd 2018.