Establishment blamed for political turmoil

Former information minister and senior PTI leader Fawad Chaudhry on Saturday said that the country had been reeling from a political crisis triggered by the “unnecessary adventure of the establishment”.

Speaking to the media in Lahore, Fawad asked the powerful quarters not to “trifle” with Pakistan as the country was in the middle of political and economic instability.

“How did Chaudhary Shujaat's letter land in the deputy speaker's pocket,” Fawad wondered, adding that the Mazari should be summoned to court for contempt.

Meanwhile, emboldened after the outcome Punjab chief minister’s re-election came down to the Supreme Court's anticipated ruling, the PTI has said the decision would rout PML-N from Punjab, claiming the fall of Hamza Shehbaz-led government was a 'fait accompli'.

Speaking to the media outside the Supreme Court’s Lahore registry on Saturday, PTI leader Farrukh Habib said that PML-N had lost the political battle and was left with no option to salvage the teetering Punjab government led by PML-N.

“Nobody is ready to defend the illegal and unconstitutional ruling of the deputy speaker,” he said.
The PTI leader was referring to the apex court's short order issued earlier in the day, wherein the top court suspended the Punjab Assembly deputy speaker’s ruling and restrained Hamza to exercise absolute powers and serve only as a “trustee” chief minister until the hearing resumed in Islamabad on Monday.

The ruling came a day after PML-N won a dramatic victory against the PTI that few had predicted in the Punjab chief minister’s election, retaining the throne of Punjab after surviving its closest brush with a loss in the country’s political heartland that seemed a certainty.

Warmed in the nick of time by a letter from PML-Q head Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain — instructing his MPAs to vote for PML-N’s candidate — Hamza Shehbaz was declared a victor after Punjab Assembly Deputy Speaker Dost Mohammad Mazari ruled that PML-Q members’ votes were not counted in light of party head’s letter.

Farrukh, in his media interaction, said the deputy speaker’s ruling was not in line with the Supreme Court verdict on Article 63-A related to the defection clause and added that only the parliamentary head of the party had the right to issue directions to the lawmakers.

“If Hamza Shehbaz is fond of wearing achkan suit then he should participate in fashion shows,” he remarked.

The former state minister said the apex court with an “open heart” allowed CM Hamza to serve as the ‘trustee’ chief executive of the province otherwise in reality “he is the fake chief minister”.

“All eyes are on the Supreme Court. We are hopeful that Pervez Elahi will be the chief minister of Punjab,” he added.

He also took a jibe at the former president Asif Ali Zardari, who played a key role in winning Chaudhry Shujaat’s support for PML-N, saying he is only “bhaari (heavy) on thieves and robbers, not on people”.