Usman Buzdar will continue as Punjab CM: Sh Rasheed
"Shehbaz Sharif has reentered into political activities."
LAHORE (Dunya News) – Federal Minister for Railways Sheikh Rasheed Ahmed said on Saturday that he wasn’t considering Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Fazlur Rehman staging a sit-in in Islamabad as both the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) were unlikely to support him.
The minister, while addressing a press conference in Lahore, refuted speculations in certain sections of the media that Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar was being unseated from his position.
“With the weather, politics is also being reshaped […] Article 149 is still not placed in the federal cabinet [for discussion],” he said. “Shehbaz Sharif has reentered into political activities.”
Mr Rasheed also rebutted speculations that proposals were being considered for initiation of diplomatic ties with Israel.
“Under the leadership of the premier, we have been fighting the case of Kashmir,” he added.
Sheikh Rasheed’s statement for CM Buzdar comes amid reports that some elements in the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) have been ‘conspiring’ against him.
Importantly, yesterday, Dr Shahbaz Gill tendered his resignation as the spokesperson for Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar.
“I hereby resign from the post of official spokesperson to CM Punjab,” Gill stated in a note of resignation addressed to the chief minister.
The news comes after Gill tweeted on Friday afternoon that he had taken an "important decision" in the morning today. "Will share with you soon," he wrote.
Among other changes in the Punjab cabinet announced today, Awn Chaudhry was removed as an adviser to the Punjab chief minister.
Furthermore, PTI’s coalition partner Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) has put its weight behind the struggling chief executive of the province.
PML-Q senior leader and Punjab Assembly Speaker Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi called on Buzdar on Thursday and reaffirmed his party’s support to him. “We are with you and will remain so,” Mr Elahi told CM Buzdar.
He said the coalition government would continue serving the people of the province together and Buzdar was performing well.
