The Pakistan Muslim League-Q (PML-Q) on Friday forwarded the name of Hussain Elahi to the National Assembly speaker for the coveted post of opposition leader in the lower house, a private TV channel reported.
In a letter written to the NA Speaker, the PML-Q – the largest party on the opposition benches after the former ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) quit the assembly – asked the speaker to appoint Elahi as the opposition leader. The letter to the speaker has been signed by PML-Q lawmakers Moonis Elahi, Farah Khan, and Hussain Elahi himself. On April 10, the PTI announced it was resigning from the National Assembly minutes before the scheduled election of the new prime minister, paving the way for Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President Shehbaz Sharif to secure the coveted slot.
Then deputy speaker Qasim Suri had accepted the resignations of the PTI lawmakers; however, the incumbent speaker said the NA Secretariat would conduct the verification of these resignations from the start. Meanwhile, PML-Q chief Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain on Friday said that holding fresh elections was not the real demand of the people, saying that the core issues of the masses were to see poverty being eradicated, reduction in inflation and relief to the salaried class.
He said that it is a difficult task but the government should focus more on the welfare of the people, adding that the businessmen could increase prices but the salaried class can’t increase their salaries by themselves. “The real problem of the people is not early elections,” Shujaat said in a video message, “the real problems of the people are to eradicate poverty, control prices and provide relief to the salaried class.”
