‘Removing CM Elahi is our top priority’

Rana Mashood  |  PML-N Leader

Rana Mashood Ahmad Khan is among the leading politicians of Punjab and is a close aide of Prime Minster Shehbaz Sharif. A lawyer by profession, Mashood has remained a member of the Provincial Assembly from 2002 to 2018. He also served as the deputy speaker of the Punjab Assembly from 2008-2013 and Secretary Lahore High Court Bar Association.

He graduated in Law in 1991 from Punjab Law College and was also a member of the International Bar Association.

Mashood was elected as Member Provincial Assembly of the Punjab for the fourth consecutive term in General Elections of 2018. His grandfather, Rana Inayat Khan, was a Member of the Legislative Assembly, Kapurthala State.

Will CM Parvez Elahi get the vote of confidence on January 9?

Rana Mashood (RM): I am certain that he will not take the vote of confidence in the coming session on one or the other pretext as he does not have the support of majority of the House. He has lost confidence of the majority of the members and that is why he is avoiding to take the vote of confidence from the House.

Around six PTI members have openly revolted against Parvez Elahi and have announced that they will not vote for him. Besides, there are another 15 to 20 PTI members who are in contact with PML-N who are disillusioned with the wrong policies and decisions of Imran Khan. If CM Elahi had the support of majority members of the House, he would have obtained the vote of confidence on December 23rd on the direction of Punjab Governor Baligh-ur-Rehman. Secondly, the CM does not want to dissolve the provincial assembly. He knows that if he successfully manages to get the vote of confidence from the House, he will then have to dissolve the provincial assembly on the direction of Imran Khan which he does not want at any cost.

Why has the PML-N withdrawn the Vote of No Confidence motions against Speaker and Deputy Speaker?

RM: The prime target of the PML-N is the removal of the Punjab Chief Minister Parvez Elahi who has turned the CM Secretariat into a hub of corrupt practices. Our entire focus is on his removal because he has lost the confidence of the House. We want the Chief Minister to take  a vote of confidence from the House first and then we will submit the no confidence motions against the Speaker and Deputy Speaker.

Your priority is to stop the dissolution of assembly or to change the chief minister?

RM: The priority is to change the CM in Punjab. I believe that the PML-N will easily form the government in Punjab with the help of PPP and the defected members of PTI. We have already filed a review petition in the Supreme Court on the fate of defected members and we hope that the Supreme Court would review its earlier orders.