Let’s see if no-trust reaches voting stage or not: Fawad Chaudhry

ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Chaudhry Fawad Hussain Monday said Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government and Prime Minister Imran Khan were fully prepared to deal with the no-confidence motion, but “let’s see if it reaches the voting stage or not”.

While briefing the media after the PM chaired the PTI core committee meeting here, he said Imran Khan and his party had never succumbed to any blackmailing in the past, and it would not happen either in future. He claimed that prime minister’s formula would make the opposition rue its move at last.

Fawad said, “We hope all the coalition parties will stand with us, and we have talked to them in detail. At present, politics, government and the future, all are with us,” claimed the minister.

In response to a question about the dissident members of the PTI, Fawad said that there was no dissident in the party. “All are standing with us.” The prime minister and his team are standing firm and no member of the PTI would ever ditch Imran Khan, he added. “We would decide the next move,” he asserted.

The core committee reviewed threadbare the latest political situation with special reference to the no-trust motion, its options and support of the ally parties and related matters. The forum, he noted, strongly rejected the programme of new process of purchasing people and ‘lotacracy’ of the rejected political leadership of Maulana Fazlur Rehman, Asif Ali Zardari and Mian Nawaz Sharif, as people were being made offers worth millions of rupees, “which we vehemently condemn”.

The minister said the PTI members had shown strong reaction to such offers and informed the party about it; whosoever made such offers, but the opposition would not dare approach them again, he added. He noted that the OIC meeting would be held on March 21, 22 and 23. The assembly session should not be held on these dates, but the final decision would be taken by National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser.

The minister then listed the projects, carried out and the works done by the PTI-led government, and claimed that the reforms that took place in the PTI tenure did not happen in any other government. He said the health card was a great example of the public service.

The minister said that a conspiracy had been hatched against Imran Khan, but he had fought out that battle. He said that the PTI was grateful to the opposition for bringing the no-trust motion, which had further strengthened the party.

About their contacts with the coalition partners on the issue of no-confidence motion, he said Chaudhry Shujaat was like a brother of Prime Minister Imran Khan, and the PM had also met Moonis Elahi. The PMLQ had always supported the government and they also knew that there was only one leader in the country right now, and that was Imran Khan.

Earlier, in an interview to a private television channel, Fawad said “the opposition should withdraw the no-confidence motion; and in return we would see what can be given to them”. “Until the no-confidence motion is voted on, the political atmosphere will become so volatile that it will harm Pakistan. Therefore, in my opinion, a solution should be found so that the opposition withdraws the no-confidence motion and we will see what can be given to them in return,” he said.

In response to a question, he said that if the opposition wanted to hold early elections, then that was also a demand that they could make. There was no problem in that matter, he added. Referring to Jahangir Tareen and Aleem Khan, he said that he was hopeful that their minor differences would be resolved and they would be brought back.