Alliance limited to vote, luncheon is not included: Moonis Elahi

LAHORE: Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) leader Moonis Elahi has tweeted that PML-Q’s alliance with the PTI government is limited to vote and luncheon is not included in it. PML-Q, the major ally of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) in Punjab and Centre, turned down the invitation from Prime Minister Imran Khan to attend the lunch hosted by him for allies in Islamabad on Thursday.

This is for the second time this year that PML-Q didn’t attend the event hosted by the prime minister. Sources stated that the PML-Q leadership seems quite unhappy with the PM over the way it has constantly been treated by the government despite being a major ally in Punjab where without the PML-Q, the PTI government could lose power.

A senior figure of the PML-Q, who is also the member of Chaudhry family, while talking to The News stated, “We want respect, receptions, lunch, dinners are not important”. “Every time the PM visits Karachi, he holds meeting with the MQM, but this principle of dealing with allies isn't being followed here in Punjab,” said the senior PML-Q leader.

Sources said the Chaudhry family is also unhappy over the fact that the prime minister hadn't paid visit to inquire about the health Chaudhry Shujaat Hussein, the head of PML-Q and the former prime minister of the country. Moreover, Tariq Bashir Cheema, Federal Minister and a senior PML-Q figure, while talking to media expressed similar views and stated that the PML-Q wasn't being included in the consultation process and had been ignored over key issues like local bodies and farmers. He said farmers were our constituency and they had to go to farmers in the next polls to get votes, but the government's policies regarding them weren’t right.

It is pertinent to mention that the PML-Q has five MNAs in Centre where the government needs 172 votes to survive and it has a significant role. However, in Punjab, it has a major role as in a House of 371, the government needs support of 186 MPAs and without the support of 10 PML-Q legislators, the PTI rule in Punjab could come to an end.