Govt's challenge to Imran Khan for assemblies dissolution still remains: Rana Sanaullah

• Rana Sanaullah says govt's challenge to Imran Khan to dissolve assemblies still intact. 
• Says govt just wants to ascertain if CM still enjoys house's confidence. 
• Says PML-N is ready for elections. 

Federal Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah Khan said that the coalition government's challenge to the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) to dissolve the assemblies still remains.

Key ministers of the federal government have been repeatedly urging Chairman PTI Imran Khan to dissolve the assemblies in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa if he wants early elections in the country.

Rana Sanaullah, speaking in the Geo News programme 'Aaj Shahzeb Khanzada kay Sath' on Monday, said, "The ruling coalition is ready for the general elections. However, a chief minister who wishes to dissolve the provincial assembly must first gain the assembly's trust.

"Therefore, the Punjab governor has advised the CM Punjab to get a vote of confidence from the house before December 23 - the date Imran Khan announced for the dissolution of the assemblies."

He said that a no-confidence motion was filed later on. "With this step, we just want to ascertain if the Chief Minister has the confidence of the House or not," he stated.

He said that if the government had not submitted the no-confidence motion, people would have asked why they did not take the constitutional path.

Rana Sanaullah said that a no-confidence motion has also been submitted against the Speaker and the Deputy Speaker.

He said that if the chief minister wants to dissolve the assembly, winning the trust of the assembly is the first condition.

Rana Sanaullah also said that his party is ready for the elections. However, he said that the dissolution of the assemblies is undemocratic and unconstitutional.

He also said that the crazy person -- a clear reference to Imran Khan -- is sacrificing assemblies for his ego. Sanaullah also praised his leadership, saying, "My party leaders are politicians. My leadership does not have stubbornness or madness."

If something is beneficial in the current situation, the PML-N leadership will definitely go for it, he added. 

No-trust motion against Punjab CM submitted

Days before the date for dissolution of assemblies arrive, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) submitted a no-confidence motion against Chief Minister Parvez Elahi in the Punjab Assembly on Monday.

The joint opposition, PML-N and PPP, in the Punjab Assembly filed the no-trust motion as part of its strategy to counter the PTI’s move.

The final decision comes a day after Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, PPP Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari and PML-Q President Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain held multiple meetings and reached the decision to submit the motion in the provincial assembly.

‘No-trust motion will fail’

Reacting to the development, PTI leader Fawad Chaudhry said the no-trust motion against CM Elahi is a move to “run away from elections”.

“Sanaullah and [Planning Minister] Ahsan Iqbal were asking the PTI to dissolve assemblies and they [PDM] would contest elections but today they are running away,” Fawad wrote on his official Twitter handle, asserting that the PTI would not let them escape.

He added that the no-trust motion “will fail and CM Elahi will dissolve the assembly... the people’s decision is final".