Our PTI Correspondent
Faisalabad
“I will be stepping down tomorrow, in light of this development,” says CM Shahbaz Sharif
In a development that is said to signal the end of an era, Faisalabad-based political heavyweight Raja Riaz joined the Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf on Saturday.
“This unexpected turn of events has completely upset the apple-cart and is almost certainly going to end the 39-year-old domination of the Muslim League in the Punjab,” said Professor Hameed Asghar of the political science department at Punjab University. “This changes everything!”
An emergency meeting was called over at the Punjab chief minister’s camp office at 90, The Mall, where the decision to request the Governor to dissolve the government was decided upon.
“I will be stepping down tomorrow, in light of this development,” said a visibly disturbed Shahbaz Sharif.
The development will also put to rest the squabble between Shah Mehmood Qureshi and former governor Sarwar about who will get to be the chief minister of the Punjab in case of a PTI win. However, that rivalry can be resolved if a yet bigger one emerges in the form of one between PTI chairman Imran Khan and Riaz over the office of the prime minister.
Raja Riaz, the doyen of Punjab politics, is a multi-faceted personality, with degrees from both Cambridge University and Yale University in classical literature and law respectively. The charming politician is a media regular, having long been a model for Lawrencepur Suitings.