Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry on Wednesday said that at least three legislators of the ruling party were ‘offered bribes’ to support the no-confidence against the government in parliament, amid the opposition’s manoeuvring to send the PTI packing.

“At least our three MNAs – including a woman and minority seat member – have reported they have been offered money for the no-confidence motion,” he said, along with State Information Minister Farrukh Habib, while talking to reporters after PTI’s Central Executive Committee meeting in Islamabad.

The claim comes as the PPP leadership has once again invited the Chaudhry family of PML-Q – one of the allies of the PTI-led ruling coalition – for a dinner to discuss the prevailing political situation in the country, as reported by Aaj News.

As per the legislative business, the opposition needs a simple majority or 172 votes in the 342-member parliament to oust the government. This would only be possible after getting votes from other sides of the aisle. Last year, PM Imran had called a surprise vote of confidence, in which he got 178 votes.

While speaking to the media, Fawad lamented the “shameful act” of offering bribes and blamed former president Asif Ali Zardari and former Punjab Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif for the development. He claimed that Zardari and Shehbaz, in their Tuesday meeting, had debated on the amount of money to be offered to woo lawmakers.

He was of the view that the two opposition leaders were out of jail due to disruption in hearing of their corruption cases. “Both of them are the pictures of corruption in Pakistan.”

Talking about the culture of shifting loyalties in Pakistani politics, Fawad remarked: “After a long time, there was hope that horse-trading would end in Pakistan. But both these parties [PPP and PML-N] want to bring it back,” he added, while vowing to counter such efforts.

The information minister praised the party members for keeping the party leadership in the loop and reporting such developments. “So far, the opposition has not shown the strength to table a no-trust move. And they will not bring such a motion,” he said and challenged them to table it in the next 24 hours.

It must be noted here that Fawad Chaudhry was previously associated with General Pervez Musharraf's All Pakistan Muslim League, the Pakistan Peoples Party, the Pakistan Mulsim League-Q and now the PTI.

Fawad added that the government was preparing for the next elections of local bodies and the parliamentary board for Punjab would meet to discuss the future direction. According to the minister, the government was heading in the “right direction” and soon it would introduce more packages to provide relief to the people.

PM Imran’s Russia visit

Fawad said that Prime Minister Imran Khan’s Russia visit would further highlight Pakistan’s importance in the region. “This visit has got more importance in the prevailing global situation because the whole world’s attention will now be on [Russian] President Putin and PM Imran’s meeting,” he said.

The information minister added that the premier in his interview to the Russian TV had described the country’s foreign policy and intention to become “not part of any bloc”. He was of the view that after a long time, the country was showing such independence in the country’s foreign policy.

The minister said Pakistan had advised former Afghan President Ashraf Ghani to opt for dialogue and inclusive government in the war-torn country.

About the current situation in Afghanistan, he said Pakistan was focusing on the humanitarian crisis as Afghans were facing a severe shortage of edibles and food items.

Fawad said oil prices in international markets had touched $100 per barrel due to the prevailing issues between Russia and Ukraine, eventually affecting the whole world including Pakistan. He pointed out the 40 per cent wheat share of Russia-Ukraine of global production, and added “if the tension continues, it may lead to the food crisis in the world.”

In the given scenario, he said, Pakistan wanted to move forward with a balanced approach to sort out the issues.

(With input from APP)