MULTAN: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Shah Mehmood Qureshi on Saturday said that Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi would continue in his office till the completion of the government’s tenure.
“Usually, an interim prime minister does not need a 47-member cabinet,” he told reporters in Multan.
Speaking about the political situation in Punjab, he said: “Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif does not wish to be elevated to the federal government.” “The ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) has no strong candidate to replace Punjab chief minister. They planned to give the seat to Hamza Shahbaz, but the Nawaz camp is not satisfied with this decision,” he said.
“The PML-N still thinks of Nawaz Sharif as its leader, whereas he cannot be a leader of the party according to the law,” he said.
“Criticising the military and judiciary is wrong. Democracy will strengthen if corrupt officials are identified,” he said. He said that Chaudhry Muhammad Sarwar would contest NA-18 by-elections.
PTI central executive committee meeting: The PTI central executive committee will meet on Monday in Islamabad. According to sources, the meeting will take place at 3pm at a hotel in the federal capital, and will be chaired by PTI Chairman Imran Khan. The party will discuss issues such as the political situation after Nawaz Sharif’s ouster, Ayesha Gulalai’s accusations, attack on Shaikh Rasheed, and the NA-120 by-elections.
Cases that are being heard in the courts, including the foreign funding case, will also be discussed in the meeting. The legal team of PTI will brief the members on legal points, and a press conference will be held afterwards.
Published in Daily Times, August 6th 2017.
