ISLAMABAD: A Pakistani court on Wednesday declined a petition to hold early election for the position of Punjab chief minister while ruling that the process would take place on April 16 as originally planned.
The Punjab chief minister’s post fell vacant after Sardar Usman Buzdar stepped down while the country’s former prime minister Imran Khan was still facing a no-confidence resolution against him.
Subsequently, Khan nominated Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi, his coalition partner from the Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q), as his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party’s candidate.
The other contender for the CM’s post is Hamza Shehbaz Sharif who was “elected” by 199 provincial legislators at a symbolic session of the Punjab Assembly at a private hotel in Lahore last week.
Sharif had also filed a petition in the Lahore High Court for early election for the chief minister’s position since his party believed the process was being deliberately delayed.
“The prayer of the petitioner ... to shorten the date of Session, which is already fixed by the Deputy Speaker for 16.04.2022 to elect the Chief Minister is hereby declined,” said the court in its ruling.
The IHC verdict noted that the respondents’ counsels, including the advocate general of the province, did not display any reservation toward the idea of holding the chief minister’s election.
It ordered the deputy speaker of the Punjab assembly and other relevant authorities, including the provincial administration, to “act impartially, justly and fairly to ensure the supremacy of the Constitution.”
The court also instructed that no one must “hinder, obstruct or interfere” with any provincial assembly member who desired to participate in the session.
“The Secretary, Provincial Assembly is further directed to ensure the completion of renovation work of the Provincial Assembly before 11:00 p.m. of 15.04.2022 and should be made available for its use for the honorable members of the Provincial Assembly on 16.04.2022 in respectable manner,” the high court added.
The Punjab Assembly has 371 members. Any candidate wishing to be the next chief minister will have to secure at least 186 votes in the election.
While Hamza Shehbaz’s Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party has 165 seats in the provincial assembly, he claims to have the support of requisite number of lawmakers belonging to other political factions.
The PTI and PML-Q have 183 and 10 seats in the provincial legislature, respectively, though their dissident lawmakers may decide to favor Sharif during the electoral contest.
Lahore High Court rules elections for new Punjab chief minister be held April 16
https://arab.news/52w5a
Lahore High Court rules elections for new Punjab chief minister be held April 16
- The court dismissed Hamza Shehbaz’s petition seeking early election for the vacant post
- The winning candidate for CM’s post will have to secure 186 votes in the 371-member house
Sindh assembly passes resolution rejecting move to separate Karachi
- Chief Minister Shah cites constitutional safeguards against altering provincial boundaries
- Calls to separate Karachi intensified amid governance concerns after a mall fire last month
ISLAMABAD: The provincial assembly of Pakistan’s southern Sindh province on Saturday passed a resolution rejecting any move to separate Karachi, declaring its territorial integrity “non-negotiable” amid political calls to carve the city out as a separate administrative unit.
The resolution comes after fresh demands by the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) and other voices to grant Karachi provincial or federal status following governance challenges highlighted by the deadly Gul Plaza fire earlier this year that killed 80 people.
Karachi, Pakistan’s largest and most densely populated city, is the country’s main commercial hub and contributes a significant share to the national economy.
Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah tabled the resolution in the assembly, condemning what he described as “divisive statements” about breaking up Sindh or detaching Karachi.
“The province that played a foundational role in the creation of Pakistan cannot allow the fragmentation of its own historic homeland,” Shah told lawmakers, adding that any attempt to divide Sindh or separate Karachi was contrary to the constitution and democratic norms.
Citing Article 239 of Pakistan’s 1973 Constitution, which requires the consent of not less than two-thirds of a provincial assembly to alter provincial boundaries, Shah said any such move could not proceed without the assembly’s approval.
“If any such move is attempted, it is this Assembly — by a two-thirds majority — that will decide,” he said.
The resolution reaffirmed that Karachi would “forever remain” an integral part of Sindh and directed the provincial government to forward the motion to the president, prime minister and parliamentary leadership for record.
Shah said the resolution was not aimed at anyone but referred to the shifting stance of MQM in the debate while warning that opposing the resolution would amount to supporting the division of Sindh.
The party has been a major political force in Karachi with a significant vote bank in the city and has frequently criticized Shah’s provincial administration over its governance of Pakistan’s largest metropolis.
Taha Ahmed Khan, a senior MQM leader, acknowledged that his party had “presented its demand openly on television channels with clear and logical arguments” to separate Karachi from Sindh.
“It is a purely constitutional debate,” he told Arab News by phone. “We are aware that the Pakistan Peoples Party, which rules the province, holds a two-thirds majority and that a new province cannot be created at this stage. But that does not mean new provinces can never be formed.”
Calls to alter Karachi’s status have periodically surfaced amid longstanding complaints over governance, infrastructure and administrative control in the megacity, though no formal proposal to redraw provincial boundaries has been introduced at the federal level.
