LAHORE: The Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) government evaded polling in the Punjab Assembly for the election of chief minister after National Assembly Deputy Speaker Qasim Suri did not allow voting on a no-confidence motion moved by the opposition against Prime Minister Khan, terming it against the Constitution and rules of Pakistan.
The Punjab Assembly, which was called to elect a new leader of the House, was adjourned until April 6 on Sunday. The session was adjourned by Deputy Speaker Sardar Dost Muhammad Mazari without completing the procedure for the election of the chief minister. Following the ruling, there was commotion in the House and the opposition started raising slogans against the government. Journalists were not allowed to cover the proceedings for the second consecutive day.
The session started with a delay of one hour and 25 minutes instead of the scheduled time of 11:30am and lasted only for 6 to 7 minutes. It could be the shortest session of the assembly. After the adjournment, the assembly members from the opposition gathered in front of the speaker’s dais while a scuffle started among female members of government and opposition benches. Earlier, the PTI nominated PML-Q's Pervaiz Elahi for the chief minister slot while the united opposition named Hamza Shehbaz for the post. Abdul Aleem Khan and Jahangir Tareen groups had announced their support for Hamza.
After the session was adjourned, the opposition staged a sit-in but the assembly administration cut off power and water supplies to washrooms to which the PMLN members protested and tried to enter the office of the chief security officer. Rana Mashhood asked the assembly secretary to restore the water supply for ablution and turned on the AC and lights, which had been switched off. Sardar Owais Leghari said that there were one hundred and ninety eight MPAs in the Punjab Assembly and the assembly staff, on the directions of the government, didn’t allow them to use the washrooms. He claimed Pervez Elahi and the bureaucrats had stopped them from bringing Iftar items to the assembly. “If the situation is not controlled, the responsibility will fall on the government,” he warned.
Many members of the assembly, including Khawaja Imran Nazir, expressed their displeasure with the assembly staff. They said they had to break their fast in the dark. Members of Jahangir Tareen, Aleem Khan, Asad Khokhar groups were also present.
In a surprise move on the day when the Punjab Assembly was to elect a new chief minister, Prime Minister Imran Khan removed Chaudhry Sarwar from the office of governor and appointed his old party stalwart Umer Sarfaraz Cheema as new governor. Cheema, one of pioneer members of the PTI, who also contested the first general elections in which the PTI participated in 1997, has taken oath of his office. The oath-taking ceremony took place at the Governor’s House and the oath was administered by Lahore High Court Chief Justice Ameer Muhammad Bhatti. Chief Secretary Kamran Ali Afzal also read the Presidential notification before the oath-taking. The ceremony was also attended by acting Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar, MPA Raja Yasir Humayyon and others.
On the other hand, Chaudhry Sarwar hurled serious accusations of corruption at Usman Buzdar. Addressing a press conference hours after his removal, he said Pervaiz Elahi had conveyed to the top leadership that he would lose the election if the Punjab Assembly was not summoned on April 2. “Even though Prime Minister Imran Khan had asked me to call the Punjab Assembly session after April 3, Pervez Khattak, in the presence of eight members of the party, forced me to call a meeting of the Punjab Assembly on April 3. I asked him to accept my resignation. The whole party, including the federal cabinet, was against making Usman Buzdar the chief minister, but they remained silent because of their loyalty to Prime Minister Imran Khan. It is a pity that he could not find a single member worthy of being nominated for the post of chief minister from the PTI. I also opposed the nomination of Pervaiz Elahi,” he added.
Sarwar said that his life and death were associated with Pakistan. “I will decide the future political strategy in consultation with party assembly members and workers. Imran Khan said he would not be blackmailed but everyone has seen that Pervaiz Elahi, who has nine members in the Punjab Assembly, has been nominated as chief minister. He has been blackmailing our government and party for more than three years. The power that the PMLQ enjoys in Mandi Bahauddin, Gujrat, Chakwal and Bahawalpur, is as if these areas constitute a separate province. We have been tolerating all this because it is Imran Khan's decision,” he added.
The former governor said, “If there is a big conspiracy against the PTI government, it was to make Usman Buzdar the chief minister. During his tenure, corruption was at its peak and DCs and other officials were appointed after receiving bribe. The assembly members and PTI workers were humiliated. The condition of roads and other sectors in Punjab is in front of everyone.” To a question, Sarwar said an independent foreign policy is the right of every country and he also supported it but we should not confront any country including Europe and the US. “In fact, we need better bilateral ties with all countries. We must not forget what happened to people, like Saddam Hussein and Muammar Gaddafi,” he explained.
Sarwar said that if the people of the PTI insulted him, then he would not remain silent. “I also have many secrets in my heart. I still want Pakistan to be strong and happy. My life and death are with Pakistan. I will decide about my future political plan only in consultation with party workers, assembly members and overseas Pakistanis.”
He said he was reluctant to sign the document given to him by Pervaiz Khattak because it was unconstitutional to summon the assembly session and accept the resignation of the chief minister without following the legal procedure. He admitted that it was a mistake to sign the document and as a punishment for the offence, he had been sacked. He also stated if there was any international conspiracy, it was the appointment of Usman Buzdar. “The PTI had many figures like Jahangir Tareen, Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Fawad Chaudhry and I, who wanted to become the CM. The entire PTI community living in Pakistan and abroad was shocked to see corruption at its highest level under Usman Buzdar where DCs, ACs offered bribe for their postings,” he alleged.
Sarwar, according to sources, was accused of creating a breach in the party by opposing Pervaiz Elahi. Most PTI MPAs have a close relationship with him and it was alleged that he was using his lobby against Pervaiz Elahi, which was ultimately benefitting PMLN candidate Hamza Shehbaz. Sarwar, on the other hand, claims that he had refused to take any course against law and the Constitution.
