Interior Minister Sheikh Rasheed Ahmad has advised Prime Minister Imran Khan to meet with Jahangir Tareen, following earlier reports that the estranged Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader had met with leaders of the Opposition to discuss bringing a no-confidence motion against the premier.
“I would suggest PM Khan have talks with Jahangir Tareen, even if PTI gets upset with my suggestion,” the minister urged. Sources indicated that the prime minister had responded to this suggestion with ‘a stony silence‘.
At a press conference in Lahore on Friday, Sheikh Rasheed said that attempts by the Opposition to bring forth a no-confidence motion against the prime minister were ‘going to dig their own grave’.
Major opposition parties, including Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N), Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and the JUI- have aligned forces to prepare a no-trust move, tasking PPP co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari to poach additional members from among the government’s allies.
“Nawaz Sharif has assigned horse-trading to Asif Zardari,” the minister said, adding that “fear of Imran Khan is bringing them close to each other.”
The interior minister further said that the opposition’s efforts would end in vain, predicting that PM Imran Khan would successfully complete his term as he claimed “all the institutions are standing with the government.”
“PM Imran Khan would get even stronger after the failure of the no-trust motion. You will see that Imran Khan will face this game with valour,” he concluded.
During a meeting with Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) MNA Ameer Siraj-ul-Haq, Zardari had reportedly revealed the power-sharing agreement among the opposition, indicating that Pakistan Muslim League-Q (PML-Q) MPA Chaudhry Parvez Elahi had been slated to replace Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar, should their no-confidence motion succeed.
