The Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan reiterated its demand for the un-sealing of party offices and the recovery of its missing workers in a meeting with PM Imran Khan, who visited the party's Bahadaruabad office during his Karachi visit purportedly to get reassurances of allies ahead of the no-confidence motion in the National Assembly, reported Aaj News.
Meanwhile, Grand Democratic Alliance chief Syed Sibghatullah Shah Rashdi, referred to as Pir Pagara by his followers, skipped the meeting with the premier citing health issues.
The video of PM Imran's arrival at the MQM-P office was shared by the PTI on Twitter.
At the MQM-P office, Convenor Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui greeted PM Imran along with Federal IT Minister Aminul Haq, party leaders Amir Khan, Waseem Akhtar and others.
According to sources, the no-trust move was discussed during the meeting as well as Karachi's developmental and infrastructural issues including the rapid mass transit Green Line Bus Service.
During the meeting, as per Aaj News, the MQM-P leadership reiterated its demands for the un-sealing of its offices that were shut down following party founder Altaf Hussain's incendiary speech of August 2016. It included its Nine Zero headquarters and Khurshid Memorial Secretariat.
No-trust move
The combined opposition including the PPP, PML-N and JUI-F on Tuesday submitted the no-trust move in the National Assembly, including the requisition for the NA session to take up the motion. PML-N's Ayaz Sadiq, Khwaja Saad Rafique and Marriyum Aurangzeb along with PPP's Shazia Marri submitted the motion and the requisition to the NA speaker. The speaker now has a maximum of 14 days to call a session to take up the no-confidence move against PM Imran.
The development stirred a debate on the longevity of the PTI-led government, as the ruling party was in the meantime trying to convince the estranged leaders from the Tareen group and former minister Aleem Khan. So far, the efforts to resolve the reservations of estranged leaders have not borne any fruitful results and the "minus-Buzdar" is the new buzzword in the political arena.
The group of lawmakers led by estranged PTI leader Jahangir Tareen said on Tuesday that it would only move forward on a "minus Buzdar" strategy. "During the meeting, we gave Tareen full authority to make decisions on behalf of the group," Punjab MPA Nauman Langrial told reporters in Lahore. He had claimed that different political parties were contacting them and they were hearing their views on the political situation. Moreover, he added the final decision would be taken by Jehangir Tareen.
According to sources, Prime Minister Imran Khan would visit the MQM-P Bahadurabad Office where the coalition party leader Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui, federal minister Amunul Haq and other party leaders would welcome the former. The MQM-P was expected to raise the issues pertaining to missing party workers, urban development, and closure of offices before the premier.
The premier would be accompanied by Sindh Governor Imran Ismail, Planning Minister Asad Umar, and Maritime Affairs Minister Ali Zaidi. PM Imran was also expected to meet the Grand Democratic Alliance leaders.
In a couple of his speeches, the premier had claimed that he was "planning ahead" of the opposition and "all set" to counter his opponents. But, Tuesday's development has prompted the leaders in the treasury benches to increase their meetings with coalition partners to seek support and fail the opposition's move to oust the government.
Moreover, PTI Senator Faisal Javed on Tuesday alleged that PMٰ Imran was informed that lawmakers were "being bought for Rs180 million" and reiterated the government's stance of preparedness.
"[PM] Imran Khan loves challenges otherwise he gets bored. The no-confidence motion is excitement for him [PM Imran]. There are reports of horse-trading. PM has all the information that people were being bought [for vote buying]," he said while talking to Aaj News show Spotlight.
He alleged that the premier was being informed that Rs150-200 million were being offered for vote-buying to support the opposition's no-trust move against the opposition. Javed further had claimed that the opposition would hear "bad news" in the next 48 hours.
In addition to this, PM Imran in an interaction with journalists, former ambassadors and representatives of think-tanks on his China visit had said that it was "very difficult" to bring any legislation in a federal parliamentary form of government where the government does not have a two-third majority in the assembly. He added that without such numbers it was "difficult" to convince on issues, as it has been witnesses in preceding governments that allies are being awarded ministries for their support of the ruling party in making the government.
