Hamza ‘elected’ Punjab CM at Lahore hotel

LAHORE:

On a day of confusion and turmoil at the Punjab Assembly, which was sealed with its main gate closed and barbed wire atop its boundary walls, the PML-N on Wednesday held a “session” of their own at a private hotel as party vice president Maryam Nawaz claimed that her cousin, Hamza Shehbaz, had been "elected" as the Punjab chief minister.

However, the legality of the session and Hamza's subsequent "victory" was unclear as the session was held outside the Punjab Assembly and attended only by opposition lawmakers, while neither Speaker Parvez Elahi nor Deputy Speaker Sardar Dost Muhammad Mazari presided it.

Furthermore, no notifications regarding the change of session's venue or Hamza's "victory" were issued by the Punjab Assembly secretariat.

Taking to Twitter, Maryam, while expressing solidarity with Hamza, had announced attending the session along with members of the PML-N as well as those belonging to the PTI’s estranged groups led by Jahangir Tareen and Aleem Khan.

The session was presided over by PPP MPA Shazia Abid, who was appointed to the panel of chairmen for the 40th session of the Punjab Assembly on April 3.

According to the Rules of Procedure of the Provincial Assembly of the Punjab 1997, a member of the panel of chairmen can preside over the session in the absence of the speaker and deputy speaker.

Her presence on the panel was confirmed in a statement issued by Punjab Assembly secretary on April 2.

Before the gathering, Maryam tweeted that the session would have the backing of the "Constitution and law" and “not be symbolic”.

"The session of the Punjab Assembly that is going to take place presently is not symbolic but a constitutional and legal one," she wrote. "God willing, the PML-N is going to prove its majority."

She later tweeted that her cousin had been "elected" as Punjab's new chief minister by the opposition members with 199 votes.

In videos shared on social media platforms, a teary-eyed Maryam can be seen hugging Hamza while congratulating him.

PML-N leader Rana Sanaullah told  private news channel that an assembly session had been held at Faletti's Hotel in the past as well. “If a majority of the MPAs have expressed their confidence in Hamza, then indeed constitutionally and legally Hamza is Punjab’s  chief minister," he added.

Read more: PTI files no-trust motion against its own deputy speaker in PA

Addressing a news conference after the session, the two PML-N scions thanked the PTI’s dissident groups led by Jahangir Khan Tareen and Aleem Khan, the PPP and other parties for their support.

They condemned the sealing of the Punjab Assembly and criticised Parvez Elahi for his alleged involvement in the matter.

Speaking on the occasion, Maryam said interim PM Imran had earned the title of Pakistan's first "civilian dictator".

"My message to you [Imran] is that that you have badly lost.”

She claimed that PTI had come to power in a “disrespectful” manner and also exited in the same fashion.

"Usman Buzdar was only a puppet chief minister... the real power lied somewhere else," she claimed.
"Punjab did not prosper during Usman Buzdar's tenure... he could not built even a single road during his tenure.”

The PML-N vice president further said that Farah Khan's [the first lady's close friend] connections to Bani Gala were well known.

"When the time of accountability came, you sent Farah Khan abroad... when she had no official portfolio, how come she was involved in postings and transfers in Punjab?"

Maryam again congratulated Hamza for becoming the "chief minister" of the Punjab, adding that he would serve the people of the province like his father Shehbaz Sharif did.

PML-Q leader Moonis Elahi, whose father and party leader Parvez Elahi is also a candidate for the slot of the Punjab chief minister, wrote on Twitter:  "Congratulations Hamza sahib for becoming the chief minister of Faletti's Hotel."

The development came hours after the provincial assembly received two no-trust motions in a single day, one against Speaker Parvez Elahi by the joint opposition and the other by the PTI against its own Deputy Speaker Sardar Dost Muhammad Mazari.

However, the opposition's motion was not accepted by the assembly secretariat. The PML-N's no-confidence resolution against Speaker Elahi alleged that he violated assembly rules and influenced assembly matters despite having no jurisdiction as he was currently contesting for the Punjab chief seat.

The PTI submitted a no-trust motion against Deputy Speaker Mazari for withdrawing the order postponing the assembly session to April 16.

After submitting the no-trust motion, the PML-Q claimed that the deputy speaker was no longer eligible to summon the House after the motion had been submitted against him.

The resolution against Mazari contained signatures of the PTI's provincial assembly members and was submitted on the basis of distrust against him.

Earlier talking to the media in Lahore, Deputy Speaker Mazari said an assembly session could be called anywhere.

He added that he had consulted legal experts, who advised him to carry out the chief minister's election "immediately on today's date".

He alleged that Elahi and his staff were afraid that he would create a difficult situation for them. “I have exercised my authority in accordance with the Constitution as the biggest province of Pakistan was without a chief minister.”

Earlier during a Supreme Court hearing on the matter, Chief Justice of Pakistan Umar Ata Bandial had remarked that the deputy speaker could call a session in Bagh-e-Jinnah if he wanted after he was told that the Punjab Assembly staff was not following his directives.

However, a Punjab Assembly spokesperson said in a statement that the deputy speaker could not preside over a session of the assembly after the submission of a no-confidence motion against him.

"Constitutionally, the deputy speaker does not have the authority to preside over any session," the spokesperson added.

Earlier, a large contingent of police carrying batons and equipped with shields was deployed outside the building of the assembly. Water cannons and Rescue 1122 vehicles were also present there.

Barbed wire was placed around the boundary of the secretariat. Nobody -- including media personnel – was allowed to enter the assembly premises.

On Tuesday, Mazari had moved the assembly session for electing the province's next chief minister to April 16, citing repair and maintenance work in the assembly hall as the reason.

However, in a late night development, he had superseded his earlier order and summoned the assembly to meet at 7:30pm on Wednesday.

However, this development was denied by a spokesperson for the provincial assembly and PML-Q.