Chaudhry Shujaat rules out dissolution of Punjab Assembly and early polls
As the battle for the ‘Punjab throne’ intensifies, former governor Chaudhry Mohammad Sarwar has offered to join the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and the Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q), local sources said on Sunday.
The sources familiar with the matter said that Chaudhry Shujaat met the former PTI leader twice on Sunday and suggested him to join his party.
Confirming the reports, Sarwar said they met twice and discussed the current political situation in the country.
“Consultation on future policy underway,” he added.
A meeting was also held between him and former prime minister Yousuf Raza Gilani and Makhdoom Ahmed Mehmood, he revealed.
“Instead of saving their politics, the political leadership should focus on the state of the country,” he added.
Sujaat rules out dissolution of Punjab Assembly, early polls
After a meeting with Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haideri, PML-Q President Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain said that the Punjab Assembly will not be dissolved.
A JUI-F delegation led by Senator Hyderi visited Sujaat at his residence in Lahore and inquired about his health. He also conveyed best wishes to the PML-Q chief on behalf of his party chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman.
Matters of mutual interest and the evolving political situation in the country — particularly in Punjab — were discussed during the meeting.
Speaking on the occasion, Chaudhry Shujaat ruled out any possibility of early elections in the country.
Stressing the need to bring soaring flour prices under control, he said, “It is the responsibility of all provincial governments to take action on the [unlawful] rise in prices of things.”
All political leaders should make joint efforts to address the country’s problems, the PML-Q chairman said, adding that the issue of inflation should be given top priority by the leadership.
“The leadership should address the collective issues faced by the masses instead of promoting their political slogans,” he added.
On his part, Maulana Haideri criticized Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan and said that the former prime minister promoted a culture of abuses in the country.
Praising the senior PML-Q leader, he said, “Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain is the name of tolerance and civility in politics.”