LAHORE
\nThe Lahore High Court (LHC) Wednesday rejected a plea to hold the early elections and ordered Punjab Assembly\u2019s deputy speaker to hold the election for the Punjab chief minister on April 16. LHC Chief Justice Muhammad Ameer Bhatti announced the decision today after he had reserved the verdict on petitions filed for holding the election of the Punjab chief minister a day earlier. PML-N leader Hamza Shehbaz \u2014 a contender for the CM\u2019s post \u2014 had filed a plea in the LHC for holding early elections, while Deputy Speaker of the Punjab Assembly Dost Muhammad Mazari had moved the court for the revocation of his powers.
\nRejecting Hamza\u2019s plea, LHC CJ Bhatti restored the deputy speaker\u2019s powers and asked him to hold the polls on April 16 and ordered all parties to perform their roles impartially. The top judge of the LHC said all the personnel of the Punjab Assembly will work to ensure the election takes place on time, while the repair works should be completed before 11am on the polling day. The CM\u2019s office has been vacant for nearly two weeks since ex-governor Chaudhry Muhammad Sarwar \u2014 who was removed from his position last week \u2014 accepted Usman Buzdar\u2019s resignation on April 1.
\nThe divide within the PTI has also widened after the deputy speaker had summoned the session for the CM\u2019s election on April 6 instead of April 16 \u2014 a move that drew his party\u2019s ire, following which they filed a no-confidence motion against him. PTI Chairman Imran Khan had nominated Speaker of Punjab Assembly Pervaiz Elahi for chief minister, but since there is a divide within PTI on the decision, he is expected to face a tough competition with the Opposition recently showing that it has the numbers to win the polls.
\nIn a symbolic session of the provincial assembly, the Opposition elected PML-N leader Hamza as the chief minister after the speaker sealed off the Punjab Assembly \u2014 following Mazari\u2019s decision to call the session without consulting his party and Elahi. Members from the PML-N, PPP, PTI\u2019s Jahangir Khan Tareen and Abdul Aleem Khan groups attended the session, with PML-N Vice President Maryam Nawaz also present.
\n PML-N leader and MPA Rana Mashhood Ahmad Khan had claimed that more than 200 MPAs were present at the hotel for the session.
\nPakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Leader Hamza Shehbaz on Wednesday said that the number game is complete for Chief Minister of Punjab election. The PML-N leader Hamza Shehbaz appeared before the Lahore High Court on hearing of several cases including Ashiana, Ramzan Sugar Mills and Money Laundering. While the Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif\u2019s apology for his absence was accepted by the court. Meanwhile, a journalist asked the PMLN leader that what he would say regarding the number game in Punjab, to which Hamza Shehbaz replied that if Allah wills, the game is complete. It may be recalled that Hamza Shehbaz is competing against Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) Leader Pervaiz Elahi for the post of Chief Minister of Punjab.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
LAHORE The Lahore High Court (LHC) Wednesday rejected a plea to hold the early elections and ordered Punjab Assembly\u2019s deputy speaker to hold the election for the Punjab chief minister on April 16. LHC Chief Justice Muhammad Ameer Bhatti announced the decision today after he had reserved the verdict on petitions filed for holding the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-254776","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-top-news"},"yoast_head":"\n