Opposition ‘elects Hamza as CM Punjab’ in symbolic session

Opposition members in Punjab on Wednesday evening held a “symbolic” Punjab Assembly session in a private hotel in Lahore to express solidarity with Hamza Shahbaz and the supporting group on the chief minister’s vote, SAMAA TV has reported.

At least 199 members of the Punjab Assembly, attending the symbolic session, have voted in favor of Hamza Shahbaz and “elected” him as the Punjab chief minister.

The event was hosted by Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) where party vice president Maryam Nawaz Sharif, dissident Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Aleem Khan and members of Jahangir Khan Tareen group were in attendance.

The symbolic session was presided by Shazia Abid, who is among the chairperson panel announced by Speaker Pervaiz Elahi on April 3.  Mian Shafi, Abdullah Warraich, and Waseem Badozai are the other three members of the panel.

The move came hours after the provincial assembly received two no-trust motions in a single day, against Speaker Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi by the opposition and the other by the PTI against Deputy Speaker Sardar Dost Muhammad Mazari.

The opposition’s motion requisition was not accepted by the assembly secretariat. The resolution was against the speaker alleging that he violated assembly rules and influenced PA matters despite having no jurisdiction as he was currently contesting for Punjab CM.

Taking to Twitter, the PML-N leader said she would back Hamza Shahbaz who has a “majority” in the provincial assembly, adding that she is going to attend the Punjab Assembly session which was conducted in a private hotel in Lahore.

Aleem Khan along with his supporting members reached the hotel to attend the event and urged the government “not to violate the constitution” and let the members elect its chief minister.

Aleem Khan urges the Punjab government not to violate the constitution and let the members elect CM Punjab.

“If you have the majority, prove it, if not then sit on opposition benches,” says Khan https://t.co/beiOYGTLs7#SamaaTV pic.twitter.com/357HBQdTvl

— Samaa English (@SamaaEnglish) April 6, 2022

“If you have the majority, prove it, if not then sit on opposition benches,” he said.

Reacting to the development, Punjab Assembly’s spokesperson has termed the move an “illegal act” and “grave violation” to hold a symbolic session.

The PML-N vice president, however, claimed the session of the Punjab Assembly was not symbolic but a constitutional and legal one.

Maryam terms Imran Khan the first ‘civilian dictator’

Addressing a press conference after the symbolic session, Maryam lambasted Prime Minister Imran Khan and termed him as Pakistan’s first “civilian dictator”, adding that he (Imran Khan) has “badly lost”.

The PML-N vice president congratulated Hamza Shahbaz for becoming the “chief minister” and said he will serve the people of Punjab like Shehbaz Sharif.

Talking about Farah Khan, First Lady Bushra Bibi’s close aide, she said Farah’s connection to Bani Gala is well known. “Punjab did not prosper during Usman Buzdar’s tenure […] he could not even build a single road during his tenure,” she added.

“Usman Buzdar was only a puppet chief minister… the real power lied somewhere else.”

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