LAHORE – The Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Punjab has decided against taking the PML-N head on, as Senior Minister Raja Riaz hinted on Thursday that a no-confidence motion against Shahbaz Sharif would not be tabled even if the PPP was ousted from the Punjab coalition government.
Talking to reporters, Riaz said the PPP wanted to continue with its policy of reconciliation and the PPP would not move a no-confidence motion against the Punjab chief minister in any case. “We will sit on the opposition benches and will play the role of a genuine opposition,” he said.
He said the PPP joined hands with the PML-N for the sake of democracy, else there was “no charm in joining the coalition”, adding that the PPP believed in supremacy of law and wanted to strengthen democratic institutions. Commenting on the grant of a separate parliamentary party status to the Unification Bloc, Riaz said the PPP had asked Punjab Assembly Speaker Rana Muhammad Iqbal to withdraw the notification, otherwise the PPP would challenge his “unconstitutional and illegal” decision in court.
Earlier, PPP MPAs led by Riaz called on the Punjab Assembly speaker in his chamber and asked him to reverse the decision. Riaz strongly registered his protest and expressed concerns over the allocation of separate seats to elected members of the Unification Bloc who wanted to change their loyalties. The PPP senior minister said he had made it clear that the step was unconstitutional and illegal and the PPP had the right to move the court in case the speaker did not withdraw the decision.
To a question, Riaz said the decision of the speaker was against the 18th Amendment and the spirit of the Charter of Democracy (CoD). The PPP parliamentary leader said a majority of party MPAs were ready to sit on the opposition benches, but “let the PML-N clear its position first”.
