Daily Times

Punjab Assembly Speaker Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi Friday said the government should not consider coalition partners as their ‘second wife’.

The statement comes after the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government on Thursday announced three committees to keep liaison with its allies.

Speaking to a Council of Pakistan Newspaper Editors (CPNE) delegation, the former Punjab chief minister urged the government to fulfil its promises made with the allies, saying that coalition partners ‘should not be treated like a second wife’.

Elahi raised questions on the government’s move to constitute new committees to keep liaison with allies, wondering why the previous one was changed. He said that when that committee was making progress with negotiations, it was changed. “The government should take into confidence its allies, and stand firm on the fact that we are together, out problems and losses are the same,” he said. “If the government suffers a loss, it will have a ripple effect and have the same impact on us,” he said. Prime Minister Imran Khan had on Thursday formed three committees of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) under the chairmanship of Defence Minister Pervaiz Khattak to keep liaison with the allied parties.

The committee formed under the convenership of Minister for Planning Asad Umar, would keep liaison with the Muttahida Quami Movement (MQM) and the Grand Democratic Alliance (GDA). Other members of the committee are Sindh Governor Imran Ismail, and members of Sindh Assembly Firdous Shamim Naqvi and Haleem Adil Sheikh. The committee formed under the convenership of Punjab Governor Chaudhary Sarwar would keep liaison with the Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q). Other members of the committee are Punjab Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar and Federal Minister for Education Shafqat Mahmood.

The committee formed under the convenership of Pervaiz Khattak would keep liaison with the Balochistan Awami Party (BAP), Balochistan National Party (BNP) and Jamhoori Wattan Party (JWP). Other members of the committee are National Assembly Deputy Speaker Qasim Suri and Member of National Assembly Mir Khan Muhammad Jamali.