ISLAMABAD, May 14: Pakistan Muslim League-Q president Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain has brushed aside reports about any move for forming a ‘new Muslim League’ and reiterated his party’s stance to remain in the opposition.

Talking to journalists after presiding over a meeting of PML-Q senators and office-bearers at his residence here, he said: “We have decided to remain in the opposition and play a positive role. We think that the ruling coalition will linger on.”

In reply to a question on the judges’ issue, he said his party would play a role to resolve it. “Since the ruling coalition has failed to resolve the judicial crisis, the PML-Q has decided to take initiative and has asked its constitutional affairs committee to come up with proposals in this regard.”

About any possibility of a change in the party leadership, he said it was ‘a closed chapter’. “This has become a non-issue and any effort to make it an issue should end. There is no such move and no individual or group is working to replace the elected leadership of the party.”

And the party’s Punjab president Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi said the opposition would support the government in solving the problems of the common man.

“We hope the ruling coalition remains intact and resolves the issues of high prices and flour and power and water shortages. We have no desire to join the government and hope that the coalition would take practical steps to overcome the crisis. People have mandated us to stay in the opposition,” he said.

Mr Elahi said the PML-Q had a considerable strength in Punjab, but it would not destabilise the ruling coalition. He urged members of the ‘forward bloc’ to return to the PML-Q.

“We are opposed to politics of personal gains. We would not destabilise the coalition government. Our friends who formed the forward bloc have been humiliated by the treasury MPs. Now we urge them to return to the party,” he added.