No-trust motion: Rift in PML-Q as federal minister Tariq Cheema steps down

• PM Imran Khan nominates Pervaiz Elahi as CM in Punjab.
• Tariq Bashir Cheema resigns as federal minister.
• CM Punjab Usman Buzdar tenders resignation from office. 

ISLAMABAD: A rift has emerged in the PML-Q, an important ally of the government in the Centre and Punjab, regarding the no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Imran Khan after a party leader resigned from his post as federal minister.

Just minutes after the no-confidence motion was tabled against the prime minister in the NA, Federal Minister for Housing and Works Tariq Bashir Cheema stepped down from office.

Cheema had earlier sought permission from the party president, Shujaat, to step down as the federal minister. Today, the former prime minister allowed him.

"I have also decided to vote in favour of the no-confidence motion against the prime minister [...] I am not sure what the party will decide, but Chaudhry Shujaat and Pervaiz Elahi will make the same decision," Cheema told Geo News after the development.

The PML-Q leader said that the federal government has failed to bring stability to democratic institutions. He maintained the government has also failed to address serious issues of governance in the provinces.

However, Cheena has not resigned as a member of the NA. It is noteworthy that another member of PML-Q leader — Moonis — is part of the federal cabinet and holds the portfolio of water resources. But he has not resigned yet.

PML-Q to support PM: Gill

Meanwhile, Special Assistant to PM on Political Communication (SAPM) Shahbaz Gill has claimed that the PML-Q will support PM Imran Khan amid the no-confidence motion against him.

"PTI will support Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi as a candidate for the chief minister [in Punjab] and the PML-Q has announced to support PM amid the no-confidence motion," Gill said.

The statement came after PM Imran Khan met Punjab Assembly Speaker Elahi, a top leader of the PML-Q, at Bani Gala just as the National Assembly approved to table the no-trust motion against the premier.

Subsequently, Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Farrukh Habib said Punjab Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar has tendered his resignation.

The decision to tender his resignation came hours after the joint Opposition submitted a no-confidence motion against him in the Punjab Assembly.

Habib also confirmed Gill's announcement of the prime minister nominating PML-Q's Elahi for the top spot in Punjab — as the PTI cajoles allies to defeat the no-confidence motions in the NA and Punjab.

Later, PML-Q's leader Moonis Elahi — the son of Pervaiz Elahi — confirmed that the post has been accepted by the speaker of the Punjab Assembly.