Ch Shujaat’s ability to make decisions limited due to illness: Fawad Chaudhry

LAHORE: Reacting to the unexpected move by the PML-Q president amid the run-off election for the slot of Punjab chief minister, PTI leader Fawad Chaudhry on Saturday claimed that Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain’s ability to make decisions is limited due to illness.

Talking to journalists outside the Supreme Court’s Lahore registry, Fawad Chaudhry said, “Chaudhry Shujaat’s thumb impressions were taken on a blank paper.”

The PML-Q chief, in a letter to PA Deputy Speaker Dost Mazari, had informed him that he has directed his party MPs to vote for PML-N’s candidate Hamza Shahbaz. Consequently, Mazari rejected the votes polled by the PML-Q members in favour of Pervez Elahi and declared Hamza as the winner.

Lashing out at Dost Mazari for rejecting PML-Q votes, the PTI leader said that the deputy speaker stole the people’s mandate.

“Senior legal experts believe that the deputy speaker’s ruling is against the Constitution,” he said, adding that the Supreme Court should summon Dost Mazari under the charges of contempt of court. The PTI leader hoped that the top court would provide them justice.

Taking a jibe at PPP co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari, whose last-ditch effort paved the way for Hamza Shahbaz to retain the CM Punjab's position, the PTI leader said that Pakistan cannot bear the politics of Zardari.

Criticising Mazari, Fawad said that his yesterday’s move was not in line with ethical values and he also violated the Constitution.

“We moved the SC for justice,” the PTI leader said and urged the “powerful forces” not to play with the country.

Hamza Shahbaz is not an elected chief minister of Punjab, he claimed.

Petition filed against Mazari’s ruling 

Following Punjab Assembly Deputy Speaker Dost Mazari’s ruling on the Punjab Chief Minister's election about rejecting PML-Q votes, leaders of the PTI and the PML-Q reached Supreme Court (SC) registry, Lahore on Friday night and submitted a petition against the election.

Earlier, after a crucial session of the Punjab assembly, PML-N's candidate Hamza Shahbaz retained the post of the Punjab CM against Punjab Assembly Speaker Chaudhry Pervez Elahi through a three-vote victory.

The deputy speaker, citing the apex court's opinion in the Article 63A interpretation case, rejected 10 votes cast by the PML-Q members. As a result, Hamza received 179 votes, while Elahi managed to bag 176 votes.

After the election, PTI's and PML-Q's parliamentary parties held a meeting and deliberated on Mazari’s ruling. Later, they reached the apex court's Lahore registry to submit the petition.

Pervez Elahi’s counsel Aamir Saeed filed the petition in SC in which Hamza Shahbaz, Deputy Speaker Dost Mazari and the chief secretary were made parties.