Web Desk
Ruling Pakistan Muslim League N’s Hamza Shahbaz was elected as chief minister of Pakistan’s biggest province, Punjab on Saturday in a ruckus- marred session of the provincial legislature.
Ahead of the vote, three PTI members of the Punjab Assembly were arrested by police for attacking Deputy Speaker Sardar Dost Mohammad Mazari as the party boycotted the session to elect the new chief minister.
Hamza was elected as the new chief minister with 197 votes. While his rival Chaudhary Pervaiz Elahi did not receive any votes as his party and PTI boycotted the polls.
Hamza is the third member of Sharifs’ Family to be elected as chief minister of Punjab. Earlier, his father Shehbaz Sharif, who is now the PM, and his uncle former prime minister Nawaz Sharif had also held the post.
After hours long delay due to a mayhem, the session finally started, with Deputy Speaker Mazari in the chair once the assembly’s order was restored.
The session was scheduled to start at 11:30am. However, it was delayed as government lawmakers — PTI and PML-Q — resorted to violence.
After Mazari announced the result, the session was adjourned for Iftar.
Once the session resumed, the deputy speaker called Hamza to address the house, who termed his victory “a win for democracy” after the nation was kept tense for the last two weeks.
Summing up the events of the past two weeks, The CM-elect said that when the session was first summoned to elect the new leader of the house people “were attacked”.
The PML-N leader also shared that advocate general Punjab had assured the Supreme Court that the session to elect the new CM would be held on April 6 but on that day the doors of the assembly were closed and the deputy speaker’s powers were taken back.
“History does not forgive anyone,” said Hamza. He added that when the session was called for the third time today the deputy speaker was attacked.
“We were sitting in the lobby and got to know that you were targeted. I believe this is not an attack on you but on this assembly’s sanctity. Time goes but characters are remembered,” said Hamza.
Turning his guns towards PTI Chairman Imran Khan, Hamza said that four years ago the Opposition had taken oath as MPAs to keep the “wheels of democracy running”.
