Islamabad: The PPP ministers in the coalition
government in Pakistan's politically crucial Punjab province
are set to be ejected from their posts following Governor
Latif Khosa's approval of the PML-N's proposal to remove them,
days after the alliance between the two parties ended.
Governor Khosa yesterday signed the advice sent to him by
Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif for the removal of seven
PPP ministers from the provincial cabinet.
Former premier Nawaz Sharif, the chief of PML-N which
rules Punjab, decided last week to end his alliance with the
PPP, saying its government at the centre had failed to act on
a 10-point reforms agenda.
President Asif Ali Zardari, also the chief of PPP, had
hinted on Sunday that his party did not want to dither on the
PML-N's move to eject the PPP ministers.
Zardari felt that any delay in signing the advice would
be counter-productive, the Dawn newspaper quoted its sources
in the PPP as saying.
He discussed with Khosa the "new role" the Governor would
have to play in the changed situation and asked him to take on
the PML-N leadership head on instead of issuing "friendly"
statements.
Before sending the advice to the Governor, Chief Minister
Sharif removed 13 parliamentary secretaries from the PPP.
During a meeting with Governor Khosa and Interior
Minister Rahman Malik in Karachi yesterday, Zardari said the
PPP will uphold the rule of law and the Constitution.
He advised the Governor to proceed in accordance with the
Constitution.
The leaders discussed the political situation in Punjab
after the PML-N's decision to relieve PPP ministers from the
provincial cabinet.
The PPP has criticised the PML-N for joining hands with
dissidents from the PML-Q, a party established by the military
regime of former President Pervez Musharraf, to prop up the
government in Punjab.
The strained relations between the PPP and the PML-N,
Pakistan's two main political parties, have plunged to a new
low following Nawaz Sharif's decision to end their alliance in
Punjab and triggered speculation about the PML-N being behind
efforts to push for mid-term elections.
PTI
First Published: Tuesday, March 01, 2011, 15:59