Daily Times

PML-Q President and former caretaker prime minister Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain Wednesday reiterated his support for Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi in the July 22 election for the chief minister. It is worthy to mention that Shujaat is an ally of the ruling coalition in the Centre, and his son Chaudhry Salik Hussain is a member of Shehbaz Sharif’s cabinet. In a statement issued by the PML-Q media cell, Shujaat said Elahi was the party’s candidate for the top office, adding, “Those who won the mandate have the right to govern”. He pointed out that he had also made similar statement multiple times in the past. In response to reports that the PPP co-Chairperson Asif Ali Zardari had asked Shujaat to write a letter to the PML-Q MPAs asking them not to vote for Elahi, Shujaat said there was “no question” of issuing a letter. “I do not need to clarify. The solution to the country’s problems lies in not getting involved in cycles of counting [votes],” he said while referring to the election for the chief minister. “Whoever succeeds in solving the problems of the poor will have completed his numbers in the true sense,” Shujaat said in his statement. “Those who are elected should serve the people.” Shujaat said the solution to the country’s problems was to either let the incumbent government stay for a year or more till the general elections or hold fresh elections immediately. The election for the Punjab chief minister will be held on July 22.

After the Supreme Court’s verdict that the defectors’ votes would not be counted in the election of the prime minister or chief minister and the resignation of two PML-N MPAs, incumbent Chief Minister Hamza Shehbaz had lost his majority in the 371-strong house. He is certain to lose his office to Elahi after failing to win 11 seats to achieve a majority in the Punjab Assembly where the joint opposition (PTI and PML-Q) now has 188 members after the recent by-polls. Meanwhile, PTI Vice Chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi and PML-Q’s Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi met on Wednesday to discuss the upcoming CM’s election.

Omer Sarfraz Cheema, Mehmoodur Rasheed and recently elected MPAs also participated, according to a statement. Elahi noted that the joint opposition had the majority in the Punjab Assembly and vowed to “defeat every effort to kidnap or harass MPAs”. Qureshi said the majority in the provincial assembly stood with Imran Khan and his nominated candidate. Qureshi clarified that his son Zain Qureshi was not a contender for speaker Punjab Assembly or chief minister, adding the party had already named Elahi as the candidate for the position of the provincial chief executive. He also insisted that the PTI had the required strength of MPAs to elect new chief minister.