Hamza Shahbaz Elected as Punjab CM in Symbolic Session

Leader of the Opposition in the Punjab Assembly Hamza Shahbaz Sharif has been ‘elected as the Chief Minister (CM) of Punjab’ with 199 votes in a symbolic session following the closure of provincial assembly on Wednesday.

After the Government’s move, the opposition decided to hold a symbolic session of the Punjab Assembly at a local hotel in Lahore, which was attended by members of PML-N, PTI’s Jahangir Tarin, and Aleem Khan groups. The provincial lawmakers extended their support by standing up during the voting, declaring Hamza Shahbaz as Chief Minister of Punjab.

The development comes just hours after the Provincial Assembly received two no-trust motions in a single day, including one against Speaker Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi by the joint opposition, and the other against Deputy Speaker Sardar Dost Muhammad Mazari by PTI.

However, the Assembly Secretariat has rejected the opposition’s motion. The PML-N’s no-confidence resolution against PA Speaker Elahi alleged that he violated assembly rules and influenced PA matters despite having no jurisdiction as he was currently contesting for Punjab Chief.

The PTI had submitted a no-trust motion against Deputy Speaker Sardar Dost Muhammad Mazari for withdrawing the order postponing today’s Provincial Assembly Session to April 16, 2022.

However, the Punjab Assembly Spokesperson has termed the move of holding the symbolic session an illegal act. “The deputy speaker does not have the right to hold the session as he’s not eligible to do so after the submission of no-trust motion against him,” said the PA Speaker.

Meanwhile, the PML-N President Shahbaz Sharif said that after the National Assembly, the constitution is now being violated in Pakistan’s largest province, adding that the representative of of the people in the province is being locked up and the Constitution is being trampled.

He added that stopping the deputy speaker, who was following the Supreme Court’s orders and the Constitution, by using force was tantamount to treason. “Imran Khan Niazi is wandering around carelessly after massacring the Constitution” he said, adding that the premier is ready to destroy the entire system along with his downfall.

Read more: PM Khan Nominates Former CJP Gulzar Ahmed as Caretaker Prime Minister.

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