Tiff with ruling PTI heats up in Punjab

LAHORE: Taking the ongoing confrontation with the ruling PTI in Punjab to new heights, the PML-N leadership will likely resign from the chairmanships and memberships of all standing committees of the Punjab Assembly.

According to sources, PML-N leadership has summoned a meeting of its Punjab parliamentary party today (Wednesday) at the party secretariat to ratify the decision or not. The final decision about resigning from standing committees or not would be announced Friday when the Punjab Assembly’s coming session begins.

According to sources, one of the main reasons to resign from chairmanships and membership of the standing committees was PTI government’s adamant attitude to refuse Punjab Assembly’s Leader of the Opposition Hamza Shahbaz the slot of chairman Public Accounts Committee.

Besides, the continuous refusal by the Punjab Assembly speaker to issue production orders for detained PML-N leaders including Leader of the Opposition Hamza Shahbaz and Kh Salman Rafiq. All political parties including the PTI had already decided in principle that leader of the opposition should be give the slot of PAC.

But PML-N leadership alleges that PTI had gone back on its principled stance when it was in the Opposition. The non-production of Hamza and former minister Salman Rafiq had been the major reason of confrontation between the Treasury and Opposition benches over the last few months.