PML-Q's Pervaiz Elahi sets alarm bells ringing for PM Imran Khan ahead of no-trust motion

Punjab Assembly Speaker and PML-Q leader Pervaiz Elahi has said that all the PTI allies are "100% inclined" towards the Opposition as the government scrambles to saves its alliance following the submission of the no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Imran Khan.

While speaking to Hum News, Elahi — whose party is an ally of the PTI in the Centre and Punjab  — said:  "It is Khan sahab's duty to reverse the tilt. But I believe the time to send delegations [for assuring support] has passed. Had he done this earlier, this could have been avoided."

Just a week before  a session to vote on the no-trust motion, the speaker set the alarm bells ringing for the PM, terming the alliance of the three Opposition major parties — JUI-F, PML-N, and PPP — as lasting and stable.

The government's key ally in the Centre, the Grand Democratic Alliance (GDA), Monday assured PM Imran Khan of complete support ahead of the no-trust motion, while other allies — BAP, MQM-P, and PML-Q — are still indecisive.

The statement comes just hours after PM Imran Khan said the entire nation was ready to go down with him rather than supporting the "three stooges", as he slammed the Opposition amid rising political tensions.

In his address to a convention of overseas Pakistanis in Islamabad, the prime minister said: "When the people saw the faces of the three stooges — PML-N President Shahbaz Sharif, Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman, and PPP Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari — they decided against supporting them and expressed their desire to go down with [me]."

The prime minister thanked the Opposition for moving the no-confidence motion and said that through the move, his party had strengthened, with people all-geared up for the March 27 rally — which is expected to take place at D-Chowk just a day before the National Assembly votes on the no-trust motion.

The government allies — BAP, MQM-P, and PML-Q — have been holding meetings back and forth with each another — and even the Opposition parties, as the PTI awaits their final decision.

Numbers game

It is noteworthy that the three allies have 17 representatives in the National Assembly. If these parties join the Opposition, the PTI government's strength will fall to 162 from 179, and the total number of MNAs in the unified opposition would rise to 179.

To pass the no-trust motion, the Opposition needed the backing of 172 MNAs. The NA currently has a total membership of 341 members, with one seat empty.

The ruling coalition now has 179 MNAs in favour, while the Opposition has 162 MNAs in the lower house of parliament. The Opposition required the backing of ten more MNAs to dislodge the Imran Khan government.