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April 23 , 202

Hamza Shehbaz Elected Punjab CM after Garnering 197 Votes in Assembly Session Marred by Melees, Chaos

Lahore: PML-N's Hamza Shehbaz has been elected the new chief minister of Punjab following a chaotic session at the provincial assembly that saw Deputy Speaker Sardar Dost Muhammad Mazari attacked and PML-Q leader Chaudhry Parvez Elahi getting injured.

Hamza garnered 197 votes to beat Elahi — his rival, whose party PML-Q and ally PTI boycotted the election that began after more than five hours of delay following a number of altercations and melees on the floor of the House throughout the day.

Announcing the results of the election, the deputy speaker said the day represented a "success of democracy" and lauded the "positive role" of the MPAs who took part in the voting despite disturbing events.

In his maiden speech as the chief minister of the province, Hamza said his victory belonged to every lawmaker still seated in the assembly and thanked his allies for their support.

He said he would not "pursue revenge" and would instead work to serve the people and benefit them — terming it as the "best [form of] revenge".

The newly elected chief minister said he would make price committees functional and that dialysis machines lying useless in hospitals would be repaired. He said a modern local government system would also be introduced in Punjab.

PML-N Vice President Maryam Nawaz congratulated her cousin on winning the election. "Brothers and sisters of Punjab, the mandate that was stolen from you during the 2018 election has been returned to you once more," she declared, adding that the people would get their due rights.

The session was scheduled to begin at 11:30am but got underway a little after 5pm, following which the deputy speaker ordered that the doors of the legislature be closed and commenced the proceedings for voting.

Prior to the resumption of the session, television footage showed Elahi being given oxygen while his right forearm was bandaged.

He alleged that PML-N MPA Rana Mashood broke his hand. "During his (Shehbaz's) exile, I took care of Hamza [Shehbaz] but today he showed his reality," he said. "This is Sharif's democracy. They have crossed the limits today."

Elahi later told  DawnNewsTV that PML-N had "taken revenge" from him today and accused Punjab Inspector General of Police Rao Sardar Ali Khan of acting directly on Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's directives.

"He (Shehbaz) sent the IG to the House. Police can never enter the House. This has happened for the first time in the history of Pakistan," he said.

"The court does not listen to me either," Elahi complained.

Deputy speaker attacked, pelted with lotas

Earlier, slogans were chanted by both the parties, while PTI members threw  lotas at the opposition benches, leading to open altercations and fights on the floor of the house.

When Mazari entered the assembly, members of the treasury benches threw  lotas at him and tried to circle him, while one of the MPAs pulled his hair and others were seen taking shots at him. Mazari was immediately shifted to his chamber by assembly guards.

To control the situation inside the house, Punjab SSP Operations along with a huge contingent of police officers entered the assembly in civil clothes but later exited the hall after protests from Elahi.

Meanwhile, the Punjab chief secretary and IG held a meeting inside Mazari's chamber to chalk out a plan to resume the PA session.

Later in the day, officers of the Anti-riots Force, clad in bulletproof jackets, entered the Punjab Assembly via its old gate after the deputy speaker summoned them through a letter written to chief secretary and IG Punjab.

'LHC should take suo motu notice'

In a media talk outside the Punjab Assembly following the ruckus, PML-N leader Attaullah Tarar blamed Elahi and his "group of gangsters" for everything that happened inside the legislature.

"What happened today was a huge violation of the law and Constitution," he said. "Today, the deputy speaker was attacked. This is an incident of terrorism. I have heard Chaudhry Parvez Elahi wants to get one or two people murdered."

He added that Elahi had been encouraging the MPAs when they attacked the deputy speaker.

Tarar called on the Lahore High Court to take suo motu notice of the incident and initiate action against the culprits. "We are here and won't move till midnight."

'Courts can't interfere in proceedings'

Meanwhile, Elahi blamed the PML-N for bringing the police inside the legislature "for the first time since the creation of assemblies".

"Who is police to enter the assembly?" the PML-Q leader said. "We will make sure the inspector general of police (IGP) appears before us and he will be punished for a month."

He said that under the Constitution, the courts can't interfere in assembly proceedings. Speaking to the media, he said that the whole issue started when the court intervened in the matter and questioned how it could dictate what could and could not happen during proceedings.

"The powers of the deputy speaker lie with the speaker of the assembly," he said, adding that the speaker could delegate his powers.

He said he had delegated his powers to the deputy speaker as he was contesting the election for the chief minister of the province. "I stepped down for the sake of free and fair elections. [But] if the deputy speaker misuses his powers on the wrongful backing of the courts, it was going to be challenged."

He went on to say that when the Lahore High Court gave the order allowing the deputy speaker to conduct the session, they suspended his powers as speaker of the house. "This is illegal," he said.

He added that the real "fight" ensued after police entered the assembly, which had not happened before in the country's history. "In my opinion, there can be no bigger stain on democracy than this," he said.

He regretted the fact that treasury lawmakers were bribed into changing sides after being promised money and ministries. "They were shifted to three hotels and from there they were brought [to the assembly] in buses."

Courtesy https://www.dawn.com

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