Hamza nowhere near taking oath as CM

Governor Cheema refuses again; Elahi puts off PA session as police arrest secretariat officials

LAHORE:

Punjab Governor Omer Sarfraz Cheema on Thursday turned down the suggestion of Lahore High Court (LHC) Chief Justice Muhammad Ameer Bhatti and did not administer oath to chief minister-elect Hamza Shahbaz.

The LHC chief justice, on Wednesday, “suggested/advised/proposed” the Punjab governor to complete the process of administering the oath, either by himself or through his nominee, to the chief minister-elect by April 28 (yesterday).

However, after deliberations with legal and constitutional experts, the governor decided not to accept the advice of the court of law. CJ Bhatti also suggested that the president of Pakistan should play his role as mandated by the Constitution, ensuring a functional provincial government in Punjab, adding that the president was also under constitutional obligation to facilitate the administration of oath to any premier or chief minister in any province.

On 6 September 2018, Hamza was appointed as leader of the opposition in the Punjab Assembly. He ran for chief minister of the provincial assembly of Punjab and was elected amid ruckus on April 16, 2022 after getting 197 votes against his opponent Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi.

On April 17, Cheema declined administering the oath to Hamza at a news conference, saying that the Punjab Assembly secretary's report, the LHC instructions and the facts presented before him raised questions over the validity of the chief minister’s election process.

He highlighted that he had written to the advocate general of Punjab and the Punjab Assembly speaker to seek their opinion on the assembly secretary's report, LHC directions and other facts to make a decision on the oath-taking ceremony at the Governor House. He underlined that he could not endorse anything illegal or beyond the Constitution.

However, legal and constitutional experts believed that the governor had not committed contempt of court by turning down CJ Bhatti’s suggestion. Constitutional lawyer of the Supreme Court, Muhammad Azhar Siddique, said the court of law has advised the governor to administer the oath to Hamza. The court did not issue direction/instruction to the governor. It is the president’s or governor’s discretion to administer the oath to the chief minister-elect.

Meanwhile, the Punjab governor continued his routine meetings at the Governor House on Thursday. He met with different delegations which called on him at the Governor House.

Read Alvi to ‘consider’ Hamza’s swearing-in

On the occasion, Cheema said the nation had seen decades later that a democratic government and the establishment were on the same page which did not sit well with the anti-state elements so a conspiracy was hatched from day one. He said that external conspiracy was also hatched against the natural alliance to harm the government and national interest.

Cheema said that no power in the world could harm them if they, as a nation, adhered to “La ilaha illallah". “Time is not far away when we will be recognised as a self-sufficient nation in the world.”

Elahi puts off session after staffer held

Speaker Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi put off the Punjab Assembly proceedings after the police started arresting secretariat officials ahead of the beginning of the session on Thursday.

The police's attempt to detain the assembly secretary also resulted in keeping him confined at the Lahore High Court for several hours.

The assembly was scheduled to take up a no-confidence motion against Deputy Speaker Sardar Dost Muhammad Mazari.

There were also speculations that the speaker might declare the election of the chief minister held on April 16 as null and void.

Minutes before of the commencement of the session, the police arrested Punjab Assembly Coordination Secretary Inayatullah Lak.

The police also tried to arrest Secretary Muhammad Khan Bhatti when he came out of the LHC but his lawyers foiled the attempt. The police reportedly wanted to arrest Bhatti in connection with an FIR registered by Gujar Singh police against unidentified persons for attacking the deputy speaker and officials.

Speaker Elahi said while sharing the cause of adjourning he proceedings that “the assembly officials are being harassed by police officials".

He said some officials had been arrested, while raids were also being conducted to arrest the rest of the assembly staff.

The speaker also criticised the attitude of the PML-N, accusing it of sabotaging the assembly proceedings.

In exercise of powers vested in him under Rule 25(b) of the Rules of Procedure of the Punjab Assembly, 1997, the speaker ordered that the next sitting of the assembly would be held on Monday May 16 at 11:30 am instead of Thursday, according to the notification issued by him.

As per the assembly agenda issued on Wednesday, a motion to remove the deputy speaker was to be taken up.

The motion read, “Deputy Speaker Sardar Dost Mazari has lost confidence amongst majority of the lawmakers owing to his conduct of not running assembly’s business in accordance with the Constitution. This house shows its distrust in Mazari.”

Read LHC reserves verdict on administering oath to Punjab CM-elect Hamza

The Punjab Assembly had also issued new standard operating procedures (SOPs) relating to the session with an intimation that “guests will not be allowed, all members of the provincial assembly (MPAs) will surrender their mobile phones with the security staff outside the assembly chambers as well as the women MPAs will also submit their handbags to the security staff”.

Shehbaz, Hamza blamed for crisis

Addressing a news conference along with PML-Q and PTI MPAs at the assembly on Thursday, the Punjab Assembly speaker blamed Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Punjab chief minister-elect Hamza Shehbaz, Deputy Speaker Dost Muhammad Mazari and the provincial inspector general of police for the crisis in the legislature.

The speaker alleged that the assembly members had been attacked at the behest of the prime minister, saying that the police interference had breached the privileges of the entire assembly.

"There is no constitutional crisis in the province. Sardar Usman Buzdar is the chief minister of Punjab even today," Elahi asserted. “We had accepted the court judgment regarding the Punjab chief minister’s election but the situation deteriorated when the police attacked the MPAs inside the assembly without any justification. Our MPA Asiya Amjad was tortured and she is still struggling for her life on ventilator support.”

Under the Constitution, all business for election of the speaker, deputy speaker and chief minister, as well as no-confidence motion is conducted from the speaker’s chair. But the deputy speaker conducted the entire election from the visitors’ gallery, which is unconstitutional, he asserted.

He said the police had also blocked access to the lobby where the members had to cast their votes.

Read more Hamza – third Sharif to take Punjab’s crown

Elahi said the illegal police interference had resulted in the breach of the privilege of the whole assembly. “A motion in this regard is under consideration of the privileges committee, on which action will be taken in accordance with the Rules of Procedure,” he added. "The court should tell us whether the assembly business be run by us or the police. Even today, without the permission of the speaker, policemen in plain clothes are present at the assembly gates and compound. We will give photographs of these policemen to the media."

The speaker said no one on the streets and in the neighbourhoods had bothered about the Sharif family members. "We gave them respect in the assembly, issued their production orders, safeguarded their rights under the Privileges Act and made the entire administration answerable. For the first time in history, the Punjab IGP was summoned to the assembly and he apologised to the MPAs, but now he is insulting the assembly," he added.

The PML-Q leader said the Sharifs had not changed even after five years and were committing vengeful acts. "They got power six times but they have remained the same."

Elahi asked for what crime was Punjab Assembly Coordination Secretary Inayatullah Lak placed under arrested. He said orders for arrest of Secretary Mohammad Khan Bhatti under the Maintenance of Public Order law were also illegal.

The speaker said, "We enhanced the prestige of the assembly but the Sharifs humiliated it in just five minutes and tore the 18th Amendment to the Constitution into pieces."

Former provincial minister Mohammad Basharat Raja said the prestige of the lawmakers had been boosted during the past three-and-a-half years. "We respected the PML-N’s narrative about ‘giving respect to the vote’," he said.

He said the PML-N had not been given full powers but its leaders were already insulting the MPAs.

"A chief minister elected unconstitutionally wants to be given the control of the province, but this cannot happen. Our candidate was injured and pushed out of the house. Twenty-six MPAs have shifted their allegiance towards us and the PML-N lacks majority support without them," he added.

Raja said, "We have gone to the court against the turncoats, while the Election Commission has given the date of May 6."

PTI MPA Murad Ras said the Constitution and all laws could not be applied only to the PTI while keeping the PML-N exempted.