In a symbolic session of the PA, Hamza Sharif was elected as Punjab Chief Minister

In a symbolic session of the Punjab Assembly (PA) conducted at a local hotel on Wednesday night, Hamza Shehbaz, the Leader of the Opposition in the Punjab Assembly, was chosen as the new chief minister by the united opposition MPAs.

The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), and Jahangir Khan Tareen and Aleem Khan groups of Pakistan Tehreek Insaaf (PTI) held a symbolic Punjab Assembly session at the hotel in protest of the Punjab Assembly building being barricaded with barbed wires on Wednesday, amid confusion over the scheduling of all-important sessions for the election of the new chief minister of Punjab following Usman Buzdar’s resignation.

199 members of the legislature who attended the symbolic session voted in favour of Hamza, according to the report.
The PTI has nominated Speaker of the Punjab Assembly Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi as CM candidate, whereas the Opposition parties have chosen Leader of the Opposition in Punjab Assembly Hamza Shahbaz as CM candidate.

More than 200 MPAs were present at the hotel for the session, according to PML-N leader and MPA Rana Mashhood Ahmad Khan.

Hamza Sharif, speaking to journalists on the occasion, expressed regret that the assembly session could not take place today, and he chastised Speaker Pervaiz Elahi for prohibiting MPAs and media personnel from accessing the assembly premises.

He said the PTI and PMLQ were tampering with the Constitution, accusing the PTI administration of derailing the economy and exacerbating the situation. “The stock market is down, and the dollar is at an all-time high.”

On the occasion, Vice President of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Maryam Nawaz claimed the Opposition leader in the Punjab Assembly shared PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif’s philosophy and will “serve” the province’s people.

“Today, Nawaz Sharif exacted vengeance [on the PTI administration] for stealing the Punjabi people’s mandate.” “Blood was spilled in order to prevent the PML-N from forming a government in Punjab,” Maryam explained.

After the Punjab Legislature was shut and media and members of the assembly were prohibited from entering, the PML-N vice president claimed she was “ashamed.”

She urged the administration to come count the 200 MPs that backed Hamza Shahbaz.

Usman Buzdar was not the chief minister of Punjab, according to Maryam, but Farah Khan was in charge of him and the province.

“How did Farah Khan handle government posts and transfers in Punjab?” After the postings and transfers, to whom did Farah Khan send the commissions?” she inquired.

The PML-N leader went on to remark that all would be exposed when the time comes.

Outside the Punjab Assembly building, where the intended session was to take place, heavy police contingents with batons, rescue 1122 officials, and officers from various law enforcement authorities were spotted on high alert.

On Wednesday, the current political drama took a new turn when the PTI filed a no-confidence motion against Deputy Speaker Sardar Dost Muhammad Mazari [of the PTI], after he insisted on holding a session for the CM’s election on Wednesday [at 7:30 p.m.]. The news has been rejected by a spokesman for the provincial legislature and the Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q).

According to a PML-Q spokeswoman, Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf and PML-Q MPs submitted a resolution to remove the deputy speaker at the Punjab Assembly’s secretary’s office.

The legislators said in the motion that Mr Mazari had lost the trust of the majority of the house and that the Assembly’s operations were not being conducted in accordance with the Constitution.
They said that, given the “present circumstances in the nation,” Mazari had “eradiated democratic standards in the Punjab provincial legislature.”

“We, the members of the PTI and PMLQ, hereby give notice under Article 127 of the Constitution and Rule 12 of the Rules of Procedure Provincial Assembly of Punjab, 1997 for the decision to remove the deputy speaker of the Punjab Assembly,” stated the motion.

Mazari no longer has the right to summon the assembly session, according to a PML-Q spokeswoman, following the submission of the no-confidence resolution.

In addition, the Speaker of the Punjab Assembly issued a notice removing all powers given to his deputy [Mazari].

A no-confidence resolution against a speaker or deputy speaker must be placed into the provincial assembly’s List of Business on the first working day after seven days have passed since the notice was received, according to rule 12. “No other item shall be included in the List of Business on the day designated for a motion for leave to move a resolution,” the rule continues.

“The office of the speaker or deputy speaker shall become vacant if he is removed from the office by a resolution of the assembly, of which not less than seven days’ notice has been given, and which is passed by the votes of the majority of the total membership of the assembly,” according to Article 53 (7) (c) of the Constitution.

MPAs from the PML-N and PTI dissidents gathered outside the assembly entrance to protest what they called a flagrant breach of the law and constitution. Similarly, the PTI has summoned its MPs and party workers to the Punjab Assembly to voice their opposition to the PML-horse-trading N’s of PTI members’ votes.