Punjab crisis deepens as Parvez Elahi refuses to accept Hamza as CM

LAHORE: The ongoing constitutional crisis in Punjab further deepened on Thursday as the provincial assembly Speaker Chaudhry Parvez Elahi refused to accept PML-N’s Hamza Shehbaz as the chief minister.

Addressing a press conference in Lahore, Elahi said: “Usman Buzdar is still the chief minister of Punjab.” 

Reacting to Lahore High Court’s order to conduct the election for Punjab chief minister's office, Elahi said the judiciary cannot interfere in the House’s proceeding.

“The Supreme Court of Pakistan has also issued its judgment in this regard,” he said, adding that all the institutions should work within their constitutional parameters, including the judiciary.

Holding PML-N’s leadership responsible for the ongoing political crisis in the province, the speaker said that the situation turned worsened when the police entered the provincial assembly and he was attacked on the directions of Shahbaz Sharif and Hamza Shahbaz.

Referring to the elections for the CM’s slot, he said the deputy speaker chaired the voting process from the visitor’s gallery. “It was not the election. The election did not take place,” he added.

The speaker said that the CM election did not take place in light of the Constitution, he maintained.

Elahi also mentioned that until the new CM takes oath, the current CM continues to perform his duties, adding that Usman Buzdar is the chief minister of the province for now.

Reacting to his decision of postponing the assembly session, the speaker said that around 150 police officials, in plain clothes, were sitting in the House. He said that they were obtaining their pictures to identify them.

Earlier in the day, speaking to journalists outside the assembly, Elahi said: “Sharifs have shown their true faces" and accused PML-N of using the inspector-general of police (IGP) of the Punjab police against its political rivals.

He said that police were deployed at the spot where votes against Hamza were to be cast.