Pakistan ruling party to support Pervaiz as Punjab CM Buzdar steps down

Pakistan's ruling party Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) has announced PML-Q leader Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi as its candidate for Punjab chief minister after incumbent Usman Buzdar has tendered his resignation on Monday facing no-confidence motion.

Usman Buzdar presented his resignation to the prime minister Imran Khan, reports DAWN.

In a message on Twitter, the prime minister's aide on political communication, Shahbaz Gill, made the announcement.

Later, Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Farrukh Habib confirmed that Buzdar had presented his resignation to the prime minister.

Habib further said that PML-Q had decided to support the government in the no-confidence resolution submitted against PM Imran by the joint opposition.

These big developments came less than an hour after the opposition formally tabled a no-confidence resolution against PM Imran in the National Assembly.

Meanwhile, PML-Q leader Tariq Basheer Cheema, while talking to Geo News, confirmed that he has resigned from the federal cabinet and will support the opposition on the no-confidence vote.

In his resignation letter, a copy of which is available with Dawn.com, Cheema said he was "constrained to tender my resignation with immediate effect due to the inability of the government to bring stability to the democratic institutions and resolve serious governance issue[s] in the provinces".

Shortly before Gill's announcement, Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry hinted that a "big change" in the Punjab government was in the offing, saying "it is obvious that the decision for a change in the [provincial] government has to be taken [now]".

Earlier today, the opposition submitted a no-confidence motion against incumbent Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar in the Punjab Assembly.

Chaudhry made the remarks during an informal talk with ARY News.

On Monday, the joint Opposition had submitted a no-confidence motion against Chief Minister Punjab Usman Buzdar in the Punjab Assembly, citing that they had been dissatisfied with his performance. 

A total of 126 lawmakers from the Opposition parties had signed the no-confidence motion against Buzdar, said PML-N's Rana Mashood, adding that 119 members had signed the requisition for a session.

On the other hand, Special Assistant to PM on Political Communication (SAPM) Shahbaz Gill claimed that the PML-Q — which is an important ally of the government in the Centre and Punjab — will support PM Imran Khan in face of the no-confidence motion against him, which the Opposition tabled in the National Assembly today.