No-trust motion against Punjab PA Speaker dismissed

Ag INP

LAHORE: The no-confidence motion against Punjab Assembly Speaker Pervaiz Elahi was disposed of on Sunday as the session was postponed till June 6 after just few minutes of proceedings.

The crucial session of the provincial assembly was held with the Panel of Chairmen Waseem Khan Badozai in the chair. Bells were rung to inform lawmakers about the start of the session.

As the assembly’s proceedings started, the speaker called out the name of PML-N MPA Sami Ullah Khan, who had filed the no-trust motion against Elahi, but he was not present in the House.

Due to his absence from the House, the Panel of Chairmen disposed of the motion and adjourned the session till June 6. The session could last only a few minutes.

MPAs reached the house to attend the meeting previously scheduled to begin at 12:30pm. However, the session couldn’t be started on time as the lawmakers were stopped from entering the premises.

Security was tightened around the assembly in the morning. Speaker Pervaiz Elahi had called the session on Sunday while cancelling the previous date of the assembly session scheduled for May 30.

The political situation intensified in the morning with the arrest of the assembly Director-General for Parliamentary Affairs Rai Mumtaz after the announcement of an emergency session. The police were directed to stay on high alert and a heavy police force was deputed in the surroundings of the provincial assembly. Police also barricaded different spots on Lahore’s Mall Road, including the routes leading from CM House and Aiwan-e-Iqbal to the assembly.

Earlier, the administration had closed the doors of the assembly, while barbed wires were placed in front of the assembly building. Punjab Assembly staff said that even they were not allowed to enter the building. Due to strict arrangements, even the security team of Punjab Chief Minister Hamza Shehbaz wasn’t allowed to enter the assembly.

Meanwhile, the PML-N decided to send only 15 to 20 MPAs inside the house in the first phase as soon as the gates opened. PML-N leader Ata Tarar told media that MPAs and media persons were not allowed to enter the assembly.

“Speaker Elahi has brought goons from Gujrat,” he claimed, adding “some people” were brought to the house last night. “You [Pervaiz Elahi] are disrespecting the house,” the PML-N leader added. He maintained the government had submitted a no-confidence motion against the speaker as per the Constitution and vowed to challenge the speaker’s “illegal actions” in court. Responding to a question, the PML-N leader said the ECP had not yet de-notified the 25 defiant lawmakers of the PTI. PTI and PML-Q submitted the no-trust motion against Deputy Speaker Dost Muhammad Mazari, while PML-N submitted the motion against Speaker Elahi under Article 127 of the Constitution.