Punjab Assembly meeting postponed after no-trust motion against Elahi dismissed

LAHORE: The Punjab Assembly meeting was postponed minutes after it started on Sunday, while the no-trust motion against Speaker Pervaiz Elahi was dismissed on technical grounds.   

 According to details, while the majority of lawmakers were still outside the assembly hall, the proceeding on the motion was started by a panel of chairs constituted by assembly Secretary Muhammad Khan Bhatti.

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) assembly member from Multan Waseem Khan Baodzai who was heading the panel called for the motion against Elahi to be read out.

According to the constitution, before a no-confidence motion is voted upon, the lawmaker who submitted the motion has to read it out on the house’s floor.

Since PML-N’s Samiullah Khan, who moved the motion, was not present inside the house, the motion was declared ineffective after which Badozai postponed the session till June 6.

Talking to media, Khan said while his name was called inside the house, he was stopped outside the assembly gates, along with other lawmakers.

He added that the motion was dismissed even before the PML-N lawmakers could arrive in the hall.

After the motion was rendered ineffective, PML-N’s Khalil Tahir Sindhu told the media that the party will submit a new no-confidence motion against Elahi today.

Sindhu said there were no restrictions on how soon a new motion against the speaker could be submitted and the party was prepared to submit a new motion within five minutes.

The Sunday’s session was rescheduled from May 30, with PTI and PML-Q leaders hoping to get the motion against Elahi dismissed in the light of the election commission’s decision against the dissident lawmakers.

However, early Sunday morning, the police surrounded the assembly and took over the building’s control. Both the government and the opposition lawmakers and assembly officials were denied entry and even the media was stopped from covering the session.

The Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N) lawmakers alleged they were stopped on Elahi’s orders, while PTI and Pakistan Muslim League (PML-Q) lawmakers said police stopped them on the orders of Punjab Chief Minister Hamza Shahbaz.

Talking to SAMAA TV before the session, Elahi said Punjab Chief Minister Hamza Shahbaz and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif were scared after the de-seating dissident Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) lawmakers for voting in favor of Hamza Shahbaz Sharif in Punjab chief minister election on April 16.