GUJRAT: Changing the Punjab chief minister with another Buzdar-like figure will be a clear-cut admission of poor governance, poor law and order, rampant corruption and lack of writ of the provincial government, says a Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) leader.

“If Mr Buzdar is changed by the orders of the PM and the person replacing him is a new face and inexperienced, he will not be able to handle opposition and deliver in present circumstances. This scenario will hurt the PTI further in Punjab,” says Mian Imran Masood, information secretary of Punjab PML-Q.

Former four-time lawmaker from Gujrat city, Masood believes since the PTI is under pressure to deliver in Punjab, new cheif executive, his cabinet and administration will start from zero and take time to settle down. “The time lost in the process will hurt the PTI badly.”

Asked then who should replace him, the PML-Q information secretary says Chaudhary Parvez Elahi is the best option because of his experience as the former CM and due to his politicial stature.

Answering a question, Masood said CM Buzdar has been making efforts to normalise the situation between the senior leadership of both the coalition partners as there has been no meeting between the Chaudharys and PM Khan for the last more than eight months, indicating an uneasy relationship between them.

According to him, Buzdar had conveyed to the PM that keeping the PML-Q in the government was imperative for the survival of the PTI government in Punjab and did try to convince him to mend fences with the Chaudhrys.

The PML-Q leadership had already hinted at normalising ties with PM Khan but he was not responding to the wish of his allied party.

However, he said that the success of CM’s efforts might be determined through some administrative actions of the government in the days to come but so far the situation was at stand still.

Sources said expected reshuffle of senior officers holding key posts in administration, police and other departments in the PML-Q bastion of Gujrat and Mandi Bahauddin districts had been put on hold.

They said the PML-Q had not shown any resistance to the PTI government’s plan of reshuffle in both the districts but shared a list of officers as party’s possible choice to be posted whereas the PTI lawmakers from Gujrat and Mandi Bahauddin had also recommended some names to the Punjab government to get share in the administration.

Answering a question, Maseed said the PML-Q had weighed the option of quitting the federal and Punjab cabinets in case of continued indifference from the senior PTI leadership towards resolving genuine grievances of the junior partner in the coalition, both at centre and Punjab.

He said the option of tendering the resignations by party ministers was discussed within the party ranks and file in case of any hostility towards the senior leadership of PML-Q in the name of accountability as well as the continued cold-shouldered response by the prime minister.

Published in Dawn, August 17th, 2020