LAHORE: The ongoing controversial Punjab Assembly session on Wednesday adopted a resolution expressing concerns at alleged efforts to sabotage the election for the office of the Punjab chief minister.

The resolution was tabled by opposition Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) leader Mian Aslam Iqbal and was unanimously adopted by the house as the ruling coalition has been boycotting proceedings of the session, calling it illegal.

It was alleged in the resolution that the federal interior minister and Punjab home minister were pressurising [the opposition MPAs] through the Intelligence Bureau and police, while [former president] Asif Ali Zardari is in Lahore to buy loyalties of the people through his wealth.

All these steps were in violation of the Supreme Court orders, it said, adding that the names of those sabotaging our mandate would be written in black words in history.

Sibtain Khan, another PTI leader, said the ‘illegal’ and ‘imported’ government had created a constitutional crisis during the last three months. He said the incumbent government took every step that was unheard of in the last 70 years as it did nothing except abolishing the national accountability law during the three months.

MPA Sajida Begum said the constitutional crisis in the provincial house was unprecedented. She said whatever the PML-N did in the house [during the April 16 vote for the CM’s office] would be observed as a black day.

MPAs Ayesha Iqbal and Firdaus Rana also spoke as the proceedings were put off for Thursday (today).

Meanwhile, Speaker Chaudhry Parvez Elahi says the PTI and PML-Q have the majority and every attempt to kidnap or harass MPAs will be thwarted and after the statement of interior minister Rana Sanaullah, the matter has already been taken to the Supreme Court.

Mr Elahi was speaking to PTI vice-chairman Shah Mehmood Qureshi, who called on him at the Punjab Assembly chambers on Wednesday.

Former Governor Omar Sarfraz Cheema, MNA Hussain Elahi, MPAs Mian Mahmood-ur-Rasheed, Mian Aslam Iqbal, Sajid Ahmed Khan Bhatti, Murad Ras, Waseem Badozai, Hafiz Amar Yasir, Mohsin Leghari and newly elected MPAs Zain Qureshi, Amir Iqbal Shah.

Published in Dawn, July 21st, 2022