PTI, PMLQ to petition SC against Mazari’s ruling in CM election

LAHORE: The Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf and Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid unanimously decided to petition the Supreme Court Friday night against the ruling of the Punjab Assembly Deputy Speaker Dost Muhammad Mazari, rejecting 10 votes of the PML-Q in the run-off election for the chief minister.

Following the deputy speaker’s ruling, the top leadership of the two allied parties called an emergency meeting and decided to file a petition with the Supreme Court Friday night. Legal hawks from the two parties drafted the petition. The petition says the deputy speaker’s ruling is a violation of Article 63A of the Constitution. It was also decided that 186 members of the Punjab Assembly will reach the Lahore Registry of the Supreme Court to file the petition. As per the allied parties’ decision, 186 MPAs reached the Supreme Court registry.

Meanwhile, PTI Chairman Imran Khan Friday asked the people to come out on the streets to protest the deputy speaker’s ruling. He was addressing the public after PML-N candidate Hamza Shehbaz retained the office of the chief minister, defeating Pervaiz Elahi in the run-off election.

Imran said he was shocked to see the incidents that happened in the Punjab Assembly. The PTI chief also shared that he had always prayed that the country’s democracy went to a place where it was in the West. He added that democracy had “meritocracy and transparency” but its foundation was based on “morality”.

“Democracy does not have an army. Parliament does not have an army. The army is somewhere else. Parliament has one thing, which is morality,” Imran said. He said the British democracy worked, as Prime Minister Boris Johnson had to resign for holding a party during the coronavirus. “It wasn’t even news here; he had to resign because of that. Democracy is based on morality,” said Imran.

Imran reminded the people of the “circus” that was seen in the Sindh House ahead of the vote of no-confidence. “Lawmakers were put up for auction in the Sindh House. Asif Zardari has been looting the country for 30 years. All this horse-trading is happening with Sindh’s public money,” he added.

The former prime minister said after his removal from the office, he went to the people, recalling that his peaceful protest was teargassed and homes were raided. “In the by-elections, people turned out like never before. People came out to reject the American slavery,” Khan highlighted.

“Today was the election of the chief minister and last night the buyer of consciences arrived. We got to know at night that Asif Zardari was playing a game,” the PTI leader claimed, adding that he was in “shock” to see what had happened in the Punjab Assembly.

“These are not politicians, they are mafia, and they consider people as sheep and goats. Shujaat’s letter alone is not effective. The decision rests with the parliamentary leader. Whatever happened today will further create economic uncertainty,” he warned.

“The nation should protest today, you have to tell them that we are humans, not cattle. Everyone should register their protest so that they know we are not sheep. They slaughtered the public mandate and now all eyes are on the courts,” he added.

The former prime minister also stated that PML-Q’s parliamentary leader was not Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain but the party head. Imran said if “small thieves” went to jail and “big robbers” were not caught, then the nation would not progress. He added that his government was first brought down at the Centre by using stolen money with foreign conspiracy.

“We will deal with them again and again. They will never let the country progress. As the rupee depreciates, their wealth will increase, their wealth is lying outside in dollars. We will not allow robbers to steal our mandate with the stolen money,” Imran said.

Following the call of the party chairman, PTI leaders took to their Twitter handles to invite all supporters and workers to gather near the main arteries of major cities of Pakistan to register their protest.

Earlier, PTI Secretary Asad Umar tweeted that the party will file a petition with the Supreme Court. PTI’s Central Secretary Information Farrukh Habib said the party had bagged 186 votes in the chief minister’s election but despite a clear majority, the deputy speaker rejected the 10 votes “unconstitutionally”. He announced that the PTI supporters and workers will protest against the “unconstitutional decision.”

Sharing a screengrab of the Supreme Court’s decision, former energy minister Hammad Azhar said if some “educated person” would have read the third para of page five of the written verdict, Shujaat and the deputy speaker would have ‘saved their faces’.

Former human rights minister Shireen Mazari said once again the Constitution and SC decision had been “openly flouted by imported govt [and] its backers”. “People’s mandate stolen by [the] mafia. Seems conspirators want to push Pakistan towards Sri Lankan example,” she wrote on Twitter.