Daily Times

The Pakistan Muslim League-Q (PML-Q) Tuesday petitioned the Supreme Court against the transfer of powers to the Punjab Assembly Deputy Speaker Dost Muhammad Mazari.

The petition stated that the court’s decision interfered with the powers of parliament, as constitutionally its workings could not be interfered with and all institutions were bound to abide by their constitutional limits.

Last week, the apex court announced re-election for the Punjab chief minister’s post on July 22 and ordered that a transparent contest be held under the Deputy Speaker Dost Muhammad Mazari, as Speaker Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi himself was contesting the election.

The move came after the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and PML-Q challenged the Lahore High Court’s decision to recount the votes polled during the April 16 Punjab chief minister’s election, says a news report.

The Supreme Court ruled that re-election for the chief minister’s slot will be held on July 22 after the rival parties – PML-N, PML-Q and PTI – reached a consensus on the matter.

Earlier, the Punjab Assembly speaker had transferred and subsequently withdrawn his powers from PA Deputy Speaker Mazari.

After a petition was filed against the speaker’s move, the LHC quashed the decision of withdrawing powers from the deputy speaker.