LAHORE: A joint meeting of PML-Q and PTI parliamentary party, held under the chairmanship of Speaker of the Punjab Assembly Chaudhry Parvez Elahi, on Sunday decided to convene a meeting of constitutional experts and work out a plan to challenge, what they say, the unconstitutional election of the chief minister.

The meeting was attended by caretaker chief minister Usman Buzdar, MNAs Moonis Elahi, Hussain Elahi and Shafqat Mahmood as well as several PTI and PML-Q MPAs.

Mr Elahi said a bogus, unconstitutional and controversial election was held in the Punjab Assembly on Saturday. He said the governor and the advocate general of Punjab had already declared yesterday’s election as controversial.

“This is a constitutional issue until a clear situation emerges, we can’t recognize it,” he said and added that whatever happened yesterday on the floor of the Punjab Assembly had never happened before in the parliamentary history of Punjab.

Mr Elahi said the police came as if they had come to attack the dacoits.

“All this happened under the leadership of Hamza Shehbaz. His target was to scare PTI and our MPAs out of the House,” he added.

Mr Elahi said the deputy speaker held the election by standing in the gallery that had no constitutional status. He said anyone could hold the election by holding a megaphone in the gallery of the guests. “Sitting in the place of strangers, a stranger conducted the election,” he commented.

He also asked what kind of election was this in which a chief ministership candidate was injured and the election was held in his absence?

Mr Elahi said the gallery where PTI and PML-Q MPAs were supposed to go was blocked by the police. He said the application filed by him to the police on Saturday had not been registered yet, whereas a case was registered immediately last night at PML-N MPAs’ request.

“I would like to thank all the members of the assembly who stood firm in the House against the goons. I also commend the courage of the female MPAs, who held their ground till the end of time,” he said.

Earlier in the day, Punjab

Governor Omar Sarfraz Cheema, former federal minister retired Brigadier Ejaz Shah, Advocate General Punjab Ahmed Owais, former chief minister Mian Manzoor Wattoo, Jamat-e-Islami’s Liaquat Baloch and Fareed Paracha called on Mr Elahi and inquired after his well-being.

Published in Dawn, April 18th, 2022