PTI hints at NA return to fail PM's trust vote.

LAHORE -- The Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) has hinted at returning to the National Assembly to ensure that the 'party turncoats' do not help Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif get vote of confidence that the party is planning to put the premier to 'test'.

With PTI dissident Raja Riaz holding the parliamentary party leader's position in the National Assembly, PTI fears that he may decide to vote in favour of the prime minister if President Dr Arif Alvi asks Shehbaz Sharif to take the trust vote.

In a meeting with media persons at his Zaman Park residence on Monday, PTI Chairman Imran Khan said planning and consultations with party leaders as well as legal experts were afoot to strategise how PTI's turncoats can be stopped from siding with the ruling coalition of Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM).

Raja Riaz leads the group of PTI MNAs who did not tender their resignations when the party decided to quit the assembly in the aftermath of Imran Khan's ouster as PM in last April.

Sources say the party might send its legislators, more than the number of PTI dissidents, to the National Assembly to check the legislators elected on the PTI tickets.

They said that even then Raja Riaz's decision as the parliamentary leader might still prevail as it would require time and efforts to get Mr Riaz replaced from the parliamentary leader's position.

Imran says PM will soon have 'sleepless night'; Raja Riaz's position to be challenged

Sources say the PTI is not interested in discussing the caretaker set-up at the federal level as it believes that the matter will eventually land in the court of Election Commission of Pakistan, but it's considering 'testing' PM Sharif's strength in the house sensing that cracks are appearing in the PDM's ranks.

PTI's senior leader Fawad ChaudAhry told Dawn.com that the party's return to the National Assembly was linked with its plan to oust PM Sharif.

He said PTI was seeking legal opinion on how it could bind its MNAs to vote in line with the party policy in case of a no-trust move, and if that can be achieved without joining the assembly.

'We will...