The resignation of the chief minister of Pakistan's Punjab province Usman Buzdar was accepted on Friday, ahead of the crucial vote on the no-confidence motion against Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Sunday.
Buzdar, a close aide of Khan, submitted his resignation to the Prime Minister on March 28 after a delegation of senior lawmakers had submitted a no-trust motion against him in the provincial assembly.
Following Buzdar's resignation, Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf had announced that Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi from the Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) will be its candidate as Punjab chief minister. Elahi is the Speaker of the provincial assembly.
The move had come as the ruling PTI stepped up efforts to ensure the support of its allies ahead of the no-trust vote against Prime Minister Khan in the National Assembly, against the backdrop of multiple PTI allies joining the Opposition.
On Friday, Punjab Governor Chaudhry Muhammad Sarwar accepted the resignation Buzdar and has summoned a session of the Punjab Assembly on Saturday to elect the new leader of the House, the Geo News reported.
The PML-Q, which was an important ally of the PTI at the Centre and the Punjab province, acquired a central role in the ongoing political drama despite having only five Members of the National Assembly.
The PML-Q had reportedly asked Prime Minister Khan to announce Elahi as the replacement of Buzdar before calling the National Assembly session to take up the Opposition's no-trust motion.
Buzdar's removal was also sought by Prime Minister Khan's closest confidants in the party.
The Opposition Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and the Pakistan People's Party (PPP) submitted the motion against Buzdar, 52, with the signatures of 127 lawmakers.
Following the acceptance of the resignation, Buzdar held a two-hour-long meeting with Elahi, where the two leaders discussed the future course of action for the election of the latter to the chief minister's office.
The prime minister nominated the PML-Q leader as the chief minister in a bid to ensure his party's support for foiling the no-confidence motion against him. But even after securing the PML-Q's support, Khan has fallen short of numbers in the National Assembly as the allies — MQM-P, BAP, and others — have sided with the Opposition.
Elahi is expected to face a tough time getting elected to the office as the ruling PTI's Aleem Khan group — having the support of several MPs — has refused to back Khan's nominee.
The Aleem and Jahangir Tareen groups had also voiced concerns against the governance under Buzdar and sought support from the Opposition to oust him.
Once the nomination papers for the chief minister's office are submitted and the scrutiny process concludes, the candidate who secures the votes of the majority of the total membership of the Assembly will be declared the chief minister.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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