After taking complete control of the Punjab Assembly, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)-led provincial government passed a unanimous resolution seeking immediate resignation of the chief election commissioner (CEC).
In an attempt to build pressure on the CEC, the government went on to demand the resignation of all members of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), seeking formation of a new commission. The resolution also demanded holding immediate election in the country.
“This House condemns the ouster of the PTI’s legal government as a result of an international conspiracy. The political situation of the country has become uncertain due to this conspiracy. The imported government has also ruined the economy and inflation is making new records. The House hopes that all the political parties will play a responsible role in taking this country out of crises, and holding transparent elections is the only solution,” said the resolution.
It added that the House shows severe reservations over the ECP as solid proofs were available to prove its biasness. The CEC and all the members of the ECP should resign immediately, it demanded, adding that it was the need of the hour to constitute a non-controversial ECP to hold free and fresh elections in the country. No one raised any objection over the passage of the resolution as the opposition wasn’t present in the House throughout the proceeding on Sunday.
The session started after a delay of more than two hours from its scheduled time, with newly elected Speaker Sabtain Khan in the chair. He announced in the House that the election of deputy speaker was scheduled for today but no one submitted nomination papers against Wasiq Qayum Abbasi. He declared PTI’s Abbasi the new deputy speaker of the House and also administers oath to him.
The House was once again echoed with the slogans of Imran Khan when Abbasi took the oath. He replaced Sardar Dost Mazari who was ousted through a no-confidence motion against him for breaching the trust of his leadership. The newly elected deputy speaker is a first time MPA from Rawalpindi. He was also nominated in the FIR for attacking then deputy speaker Mazari when he came to chair the session on April 16.
The House also passed ‘The Provincial Assembly of the Punjab Secretariat Services Repeal and Revival Bill 2022’ for the second time. Earlier, the bill was sent to the governor for approval, but he didn’t proceed with any activity on the legislation. The governor neither raised any objection on it nor did he send it back to the assembly, so the government decided to pass it again.
Earlier, PTI lawmakers demanded stern action against police officers who were involved in arresting PTI workers during the long march called by Imran Khan. Former law minister Raja Basharat said that an ‘Anti-Victimization Committee’ was constituted on the direction of Imran Khan to look into the matter and it had also held a meeting. “We have sought records from all the districts regarding [the activities on] that day and all the FIRs will be quashed,” Basharat said. He added that stern action would be taken against those responsible once the cabinet was formed. The session was later adjourned until August 15.
