PTI leader Aleem Khan is causing quite the storm in Pakistani politics. Last night he announced that he will join the estranged faction of PTI led by Jahangir Tareen (JKTG).
Aleem made the announcement at Tareen’s residence in Lahore after an important meeting of the group held to discuss the no-trust motion announced by the joint opposition.
The former provincial minister said he would not have been “sad” had PTI’s popularity been growing. However, he lamented that the situation of the government was dismal. Furthermore, he expressed reservations over the Buzdar government.
Read more: Is PTI’s Aleem Khan going against PM Imran Khan?
It appears his support of the JKTG and subsequent tilt towards the Opposition has PTI worried. Regarding this, PM Khan had also tasked Sindh Governor Imran Ismail to meet disgruntled Aleem Khan. After the meeting, Imran Ismail said that PTI leader Abdul Aleem Khan has expressed reservations against the Punjab government but he is loyal to the party.
Interestingly, soon after, reports emerged claiming that three unnamed senior ministers in a meeting with PML-Q leaders Moonis Elahi and Tariq Bashir Cheema have suggested the name of Aleem Khan to replace Usman Buzdar as the Chief Minister of Punjab. However, PML-Q rejected the idea.
“It will be better Usman Buzdar keeps the office instead of replacing him with Aleem Khan”, PML-Q leaders reportedly said.
تحریک انصاف کا وزیر اعلی پنجاب کو تبدیل کرنے کا فیصلہ
علیم خان کے نام پر ق لیگ نے اپنے تحفظات کا اظہار کر دیا ۔ #PTI #PMLQ #AleemKhan pic.twitter.com/1XwM3AD6cW— Arshad Sharif (@arsched) March 8, 2022
PML-Q to stand by the government
Important to note, the CM Punjab seat has become a point of incentive to win the support of major players amid the whole no-trust move scenario. Both PPP and JUI-F in the Opposition put forth the option of offering the seat of Punjab CM to Pervaiz Elahi of PML-Q. Moreover, the PML-Q, in a recent meeting with PPP Co-Chairperson Asif Zardari, directly demanded the Punjab CM seat, sources revealed.
According to reports, the PML-Q told the Opposition that they would not “settle for anything less than the chief minister’s slot”. On the other hand, PML-N remains reluctant to give the CM Punjab seat to PML-Q.
Furthermore, as the Opposition gears up for the no-trust move, PML-Q has expressed support for the PTI government.
Read more: PML-Q not leaving government: Moonis Elahi