Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) President Chaudhry Parvez Elahi has announced that his party has restored contacts with all its old allies, including the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P), and will soon call a meeting of all parties to discuss the next plan of action. Elahi also claimed that the Balochistan government and the Grand Democratic Alliance also have strong reservations about the incumbent government’s policies. He criticized the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) for boycotting the Supreme Court’s three-judge bench hearing the polls delay the case and accused them of making unconstitutional demands and interfering in the court’s affairs. Elahi predicted that the PDM-led government’s last resort to stop the election would also prove unsuccessful.
In a statement, Elahi said that the MQM-P suffered a significant political loss after its alliance with the PDM, and some in the MQM-P believe that it is no longer beneficial to continue the partnership. This comes after the MQM-P criticized the ruling party in Sindh, the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), for engaging in dynastic politics and voiced concerns regarding its agreement with the PPP. Despite being part of the PDM, the MQM-P has repeatedly expressed its reservations on various matters with the PPP and the federal government.
Elahi’s announcement of restored contacts with old allies comes amid mounting legal pressure on the PTI government and the PDM’s efforts to create counterweights to it. The PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif, who is an absconder from the country, attended a recent PDM meeting where the decision to boycott the Supreme Court’s three-judge bench was made. Elahi criticized Nawaz Sharif’s participation in the meeting and called it a “serious joke with the nation and institutions.”
