Pervaiz Elahi asks PTI-led govt not to treat allies as 'second wife'

LAHORE: Speaker Punjab Assembly Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi  on Friday urged the the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) not to treat its coalition partners as its  'second wife'.

The statement from the Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) leader comes after the government on Thursday announced three committees to keep liason with its allies.

The former Punjab chief minister was speaking to a Council of Pakistan Newspaper Editors (CPNE) delegation. He urged the government to fulfill its promises to its allies, saying coalition partners "should not be treated like a second wife".

He raised questions on the government's move to constitute new committees to keep liason with allies, wondering why the previous one was dismantled. Elahi said that when the previous committee was making progress with negotiations, it was changed.

“The government should take into confidence its allies, and stand firm on the fact that we are together, and that our problems and losses are the same,” he said.

“If the government suffers a loss, it will have a ripple effect and have the same impact on us,” he said.

Defence Minister Pervez Khattak will be the chairperson of the new committees, a notification issued on Thursday from the the Prime Minister's Office stated.

The committee tasked to liaise with MQM-P and GDA includes Asad Umar, Imran Ismail, Firdous Shamim Naqvi, and Haleem Adil Sheikh as its members.

The committee to liaise with PML-Q includes Chaudhary Mohammad Sarwar, Sardar Usman Buzdar and Shafqat Mahmood.

Meanwhile, Pervaiz Khattak, Qasim Suri and Mir Khan Muhammad Jamali will liaise with BAP, BNP and JWP.