The Punjab government maintains that the votes of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf’s (PTI) dissident lawmakers for the opposition’s nominee for chief minister will not be counted by the assembly speaker, while the Lahore High Court ordered the assembly secretary to open the office of the deputy speaker.
Fayyazul Hassan Chohan, spokesman for the government’s candidate for Punjab CM Chaudhry Parvez Elahi, claims that in the eventual run-off election, the PML-Q leader would emerge as the new chief minister. He alleged that the PML-N leaders had detained PTI MPAs at a hotel and were shifting them to places after every few days like horses and cattle.
Speaking to the media at the Punjab Assembly on Monday, Mr Chohan said the opposition had not brought the PTI’s dissident MNAs to the National Assembly hall knowing well they would be disqualified for life. However, the MPAs elected on the PTI’s bat symbol would be required to vote for their candidate, he asserted.
Mr Chohan urged the superior courts to take suo motu action against the supposed trampling of Article 63A. It was a matter of grave concern that a party with 85 seats was reaching for the treasury benches, while the one with 155 seats was being sent to the opposition, he said.
