Daily Times

Punjab Assembly Speaker Chaudhry Pervez Elahi has approached the Supreme Court, requesting to initiate contempt proceedings against Interior Minister Rana Sansullah for allegedly issuing threatening statements to influence PTI MPAs ahead of the chief minister election on July 22.

Elahi, who is a leader of the PML-Q, filed the contempt petition on Tuesday through Chaudhary Faisal Hussain advocate. The petition stated that by-elections on the 20 vacant seats were held accordingly and the PML-Q’s allied party, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), has secured the requisite majority according to the unofficial results of the polls held on last Sunday. The petitioner and his allies are in a comfortable position to form the government in Punjab “as decided by the sovereigns of the state the public at large,” read the petition. “In pursuant to the order of this august court the preparation for the election of the Chief Minister of Punjab is underway without any hurdle and the petitioner is determined to hold elections and business of assembly in the peaceful, just, the transparent manner in accordance with the Constitution and the law strictly as well as in accordance with letter and spirit of this Hon’ble Court.”

The respondents [PML-N leaders] after losing the majority in the house have become unnerved and showing extreme anger and frustration, the petitioner said. “The respondent No.2 [CM Hamza Shehbaz] acting in the reckless and unconstitutional and unlawful manner threatened to remove members belonging to the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and its allies. He blatantly flouted the directions by appearing in a press conference on 18.07.2022 along with the Minister of Information and Broadcasting/Respondent No.3.” The petition claimed that the statement of Rana Sanaullah abuses, interferes with and obstructs the process of the apex court as the same is to be considered as an obstruction to the implementation of its order. “And it amounts to creating constitutional vaccum, anomaly or complication, and would keep the citizens of Punjab deprived of due representation and governance. And the court has also directed the state functionaries (in para-v) to refrain from any interference, inducement or influence in the affairs to any person (natural as well as legal) in the process of by-election.”