Tareen rules out no-trust move against CM Buzdar as rift grows in PTI

LAHORE: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf leader Jehangir Khan Tareen has ruled out a no-confidence move against Punjab Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar in the coming days. "There is nothing such as forward bloc in the PTI, all rumours of a change in Punjab will prove wrong," he told The News. He said a group of PTI MPAs wanted to redress some issues but it did not mean that they were going to show no confidence against the chief minister.

This is noteworthy that for a couple of months, since the new bureaucracy took over in Punjab, dissenting voices have been coming within the parliamentary party in Punjab. A group of PTI MPAs, whose number stands around 20, has been regularly holding meetings to exert pressure on the Punjab chief minister who, according to them, wasn’t addressing their issues.

In a recent TV interview, Sardar Shahabud Din, a PTI MPA from Layyah, also claimed that around 20 MPAs on oath have become part of this group and predicted the strength of the group would swell in the coming days. He also stated that the chief minister had been given a “deadline” till February and stated the government and bureaucracy would have to address the issues of MPAs.

Sardar Shahab claimed that around 10 more MPAs were also expected to join this group. The chief minister has also been recently grilled by Federal Minister Fawad Chaudhry for not implementing the provincial Finance Commission Award as well as his failure to improve governance in the province which is inviting serious criticism of the PTI government. The Punjab MPAs want a share for their districts on the basis of equality but the CM has been criticised for focusing development work mainly in his own district, Dera Ghazi Khan.