Seventeen Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) lawmakers from the Jahangir Khan Tareen Group have expressed the possibility of returning to the PTI on the condition that the Punjab Chief Minister is changed.
Sources close to the matter said a faction of the JKT group met with Punjab Education Minister Dr. Murad Raas, demanding that Punjab CM Buzdar be replaced, along with a list of further demands including constituency issues, bureaucracy, and retaliation by the government.
Both the opposition and members from within the incumbent government have called for the ouster of the Punjab CM, although who would fill the role remains uncertain. Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) leader Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi is reportedly the top candidate of the Pakistan People's Party, although other quarters from the opposition had expressed reservations.
The government's negotiating team termed the list of demands as 'very valid', although sources claim the JKT lawmakers denied an offer to meet directly with the prime minister. Led by Jahangir Tareen, the JKT group represented a large bloc of PTI lawmakers who had seemingly sided with the opposition and the no-confidence motion.
Earlier this month, PTI MPA Aleem Khan met with both Jahangir Tareen and Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N) supremo Nawaz Sharif during a trip to London. He said at that time, "We all have teamed up in the last bid to strengthen the party. The PTI does not belong to an individual but it belongs to all of us. We will jointly make all decisions over the no-trust motion.”
Sources close to the matter said a faction of the JKT group met with Punjab Education Minister Dr. Murad Raas, demanding that Punjab CM Buzdar be replaced, along with a list of further demands including constituency issues, bureaucracy, and retaliation by the government.
Both the opposition and members from within the incumbent government have called for the ouster of the Punjab CM, although who would fill the role remains uncertain. Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) leader Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi is reportedly the top candidate of the Pakistan People's Party, although other quarters from the opposition had expressed reservations.
The government's negotiating team termed the list of demands as 'very valid', although sources claim the JKT lawmakers denied an offer to meet directly with the prime minister. Led by Jahangir Tareen, the JKT group represented a large bloc of PTI lawmakers who had seemingly sided with the opposition and the no-confidence motion.
Earlier this month, PTI MPA Aleem Khan met with both Jahangir Tareen and Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N) supremo Nawaz Sharif during a trip to London. He said at that time, "We all have teamed up in the last bid to strengthen the party. The PTI does not belong to an individual but it belongs to all of us. We will jointly make all decisions over the no-trust motion.”