ISLAMABAD: Nomina­ting its chairman Imran Khan for the slot of prime minister, the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) on Monday downplayed the threat of a grand opposition alliance made after the July 25 general election to give a tough time to the government.

The PTI at the first meeting of its parliamentary party held at a local hotel nominated Mr Khan as the country’s 21st prime minister.

However, no nomination was made in the meeting for other key positions. The positions include those of the chief ministers of Khyber Pakhtnkhwa and Punjab, where the PTI claimed to have a simple majority, governors of the four provinces, speakers and deputy speakers of the National Assembly and the two provincial assemblies besides members of the federal cabinet.

During his address to parliamentary group’s members, the PM-in-waiting asked the PTI leaders to adopt austerity and implement the party’s ambitious agenda that he had unveiled during his address to the nation a day after the polls.

Premier-in-waiting annoyed over security protocol provided to him; PTI yet to make nominations for key government offices

At the start of the meeting, PTI vice chairman Shah Mehmood Qureshi presented a resolution nominating Mr Khan as the party’s parliamentary group head and the prime minister. The resolution was unanimously endorsed by 225 participants including more than 100 National Assembly members-elect.

Congratulating the party chief, all the members stood up and gave him a big round of applause.

Mr Khan expressed gratitude to his party leaders for reposing full confidence in him by nominating him as prime minister.

“The first phase of my 22-year struggle has completed today and I have been given the biggest of responsibilities,” he added.

Clad in white shalwar qameez, Mr Khan said it was for the first time since 1970 that the masses had defeated the political elite. “This happens rarely in a two-party system that a third one emerges as the biggest party of the country,” he added.

He urged his party leaders to rule as public servants and avoid the traditional way of governance. “We have gigantic challenges ahead but keep it in your mind that people do not expect us to govern in the traditional way as we are viewed as different,” he said.

Mr Khan said he would set an example by making decisions on merit and in the national interest. “I will never ask you to do something which is against the manifesto of the party,” he added.

After the meeting, the PTI vice chairman along with PTI spokesman Fawad Chaudhry told a press conference that although a grand opposition alliance had been formed against the PTI-led government, Mr Khan termed the opposition “weak” and “harmless”.

“Mr Khan is of the opinion that opposition parties have lost their moral authority, therefore, they can only create a hue and cry but nothing else,” said Mr Qureshi.

“We don’t understand the commonalities in ideologies of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal. Similarly, the PPP and the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz were enemies before the polls, but now they are friends,” he said.

Mr Qureshi said only the PTI’s fear had compelled the opposition parties to make a grand alliance.

Interestingly, the PTI itself has made alliance with rival parties including Muttahida Qaumi Movement.

The PTI vice president claimed that the party had attained a majority in the National Assembly to form its government at the Centre. “The PTI, at which people used to laugh, has emerged today as the largest parliamentary party of the country by bagging 16.8 million votes in the general elections held on July 25,” he added.

The PTI, he said, was the only party that had its representation not only at the Centre but in all the four provinces and erstwhile Federally Administered Tribal Areas.

He thanked the independent MNAs-elect who joined the PTI after the polls and said the PTI was in a comfortable position to form its government at the Centre. “So far we have 174 MNAs to form the government,” he added.

Mr Qureshi said Mr Khan in his address to the parliamentary committee discussed future challenges including political and economical and urged party leaders to be prepared to face them. He said his party leadership had a vision to rid the country of economic, diplomatic and political crises.

He said the PTI would make decisions keeping in view the priorities and wishes of the people.

Responding to a question about nomination of other key positions at the Centre and in KP and Punjab provinces, the PTI vice president said no such decisions had been made in the parliamentary party meeting. He urged the media not to speculate and recheck information before releasing it to the people. “Imran Khan is our captain and he can place his fielders wherever he wants,” said Mr Qureshi.

He said the PTI’s MNAs-elect and senators were invited to the meeting though other leaders of the party and allied parties also attended the meeting.

PTI spokesman Fawad Chaudhry said 225 leaders attended the meeting of which 100 were MNAs-elect.

Mr Qureshi said negotiations with Balochistan National Party-Mengal (BNP-M) were under way and hopefully the party with its four MNAs-elect would soon become an ally of the PTI both at the Centre and in Balochistan.

Security protocol

Mr Khan expressed his annoyance over security protocol provided to him when he left his palatial hilltop house at Banigala to reach the venue of the meeting.

The PTI chief left his house with a big convoy of vehicles and heavy security. PTI’s Naeemul Haq said Mr Khan had always been against security protocols and VIP culture. “It was the government that gave him the PM’s protocol though we had asked for just four vehicles.”

One hour a week for people

Meanwhile, the PTI chief vowed that after becoming prime minister, he would give an hour every week to the people to answer their queries.

While he did not mention what would be his mode of communication with the people, Mr Khan said: “I will give answers to the public just as it happens in England. We will also make the ministers answerable to the public.”

It is believed that PTI ministers will hold public meetings to directly listen public complaints and order for their redressal.

PTI leader Shafqat Mehmood in a private TV talk show said that during the “one-hour-for-people” programme, Mr Khan would also answer queries regarding federal ministries and their affairs.

“It will be for the first time in the history of the country that a sitting prime minister will answer people’s queries,” said the PTI leader.

However, one-hour-for-people programme had also been run in the past by the PML-N government when its supremo used to answer public queries on state TV.

National commission

Mr Mehmood said it was decided in the parliamentary committee meeting that a national commission comprising experts of different fields would be formed to give fruitful recommendations to the PTI government on various national issues.

The commission, he said, would also decide the fate of PM House, as Mr Khan had decided not to live in it and to stay at NA Speaker’s residence at the Ministers’ Enclave. Similarly, Mr Khan had also claimed that Governor’s Houses and government guest houses would be utilised for productive activities.

Published in Dawn, August 7th, 2018