Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb. Photo courtesy PID
Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb on Friday said the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP)’s de-seating of 25 dissident members of the PTI from the Punjab Assembly has no bearing on the Punjab government led by Chief Minister Hamza Shehbaz.
Addressing a press conference after the ECP issued its ruling, she stressed that this decision only applied to the 25 dissident lawmakers of the PTI. She claimed that even without these members, Hamza still had the support of 177 lawmakers, which is the majority of the remaining MPAs.
Criticizing the PTI and its chairman Imran Khan, she said they had been abusing the ECP and urging their supporters to attack its office till now, but were now praising the electoral body after getting a verdict in their favor. “These are the people who want to cling on to power no matter how much they hurt the country’s situation,” she said.
The information minister said that the dissident members had been aware of the potential consequences when they voted against their party in the chief minister’s election in the interest of nation. “They have the right to challenge the ECP’s decision,” she added.
Reiterating her criticism of the PTI-led government’s “looting” of the country for four years, she said Khan should be held accountable in the foreign-funding case and should also clarify the position of his wife’s friend, Farah Gogi, who has been accused of corruption. She emphasized that the foreign funding case, already pending for more than seven years, should be decided within a day and if found guilty of financial improprieties, the PTI should be banned.
Claiming that the people of Pakistan had rejected the PTI, she said the party would not find anyone to give its tickets to in Punjab.
ECP decision
The ECP’s de-seating of 25 dissident members of the PTI includes five members who are on reserved seats. The PTI believes if these five are allocated to its workers it would possess the majority in the Punjab Assembly. However, legal experts say the ECP would now be bound to distribute these as per the current strength of each party and the PTI would have to share them with its rivals.
In a video statement, the joint chief minister’s candidate for the PTI and PMLQ, Punjab Assembly Speaker Chaudhry Parvez Elahi, said he was ready for fresh elections. “I am Imran Khan’s candidate and after taking oath as the C.M., I will dissolve the assemblies if he asks me,” he said.
However, Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar told media that Hamza Shehbaz would not resign and still had the support of a majority in the Punjab Assembly. Similarly, PMLN Deputy Secretary General Attaullah Tarar said only the governor could ask the chief minister to take a vote of confidence or the opposition could file a no-trust motion against him.
“Both options do not seem workable as the governor’s office is vacant, and the opposition needs 186 votes to oust the CM, which it does not have. Similarly, the acting governor cannot ask the C.M. to take a vote of confidence,” he claimed.