ISLAMABAD: A panel of chairmen on Sunday dismissed a no-confidence motion against Punjab Assembly Speaker Pervaiz Elahi on procedural grounds, local media reported, after hours of drama in Pakistan’s most populous Punjab province. 

The Punjab Assembly was to take up no-confidence motions against Speaker Elahi and Deputy Speaker Dost Muhammad Mazari, but a drama unfolded ahead of Sunday's session that was brought forward to May 22 from May 30. The session was adjourned till June 6, minutes after it began on Sunday. 

Lawmakers were unable to enter the assembly as the gates were closed, while large contingents of police in riot gear were stationed outside the building, the Dawn news website reported.  

Members of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party alleged that assembly gates were closed on the orders of the speaker, whereas Elahi blamed Punjab Chief Minister Hamza Shehbaz and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif for the disturbance. 

"While majority of lawmakers were still outside the assembly hall, the proceeding on the motion was started by a panel of chair[s] constituted by Assembly Secretary Muhammad Khan Bhatti," SAMAA TV reported. 

"Since PML-N’s Samiullah Khan, who moved the motion, was not present inside the house, the motion was declared ineffective." 

The speaker, at the commencement of a session, nominates from amongst members a panel of not more than four chairmen. In the absence of the speaker and the deputy speaker, the member having precedence amongst those present at the sitting takes the chair. 

According to rules, the lawmaker who submits a motion has to read it out on the floor of the House before it is voted upon. 

Waseem Khan Baodzai, a Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) member of the provincial assembly, headed the panel of chairmen that dismissed the motion, before adjourning the session till June 6. 

Khan told reporters his name was called inside the House, but he was stopped at the assembly gates, along with other lawmakers. "The motion was dismissed even before the PML-N lawmakers could arrive in the hall," he was quoted as saying by SAMAA TV. 

After the motion was rendered ineffective, PML-N’s Khalil Tahir Sindhu said the ruling PML-N party would submit another no-confidence motion against Elahi. 

The motion against the deputy speaker was filed by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) parties that are in the opposition in Punjab. 

The development followed the arrest of a top bureaucrat in Punjab.  

Police arrested Punjab Parliamentary Affairs Director-General Rai Mumtaz from his residence, Dawn.com reported, citing a Punjab Assembly spokesperson. 

Police officials also raided homes of Punjab Assembly Secretary Bhatti and Coordination Secretary Inayatullah Lak, but were unable to arrest them, the spokesperson added. 

Punjab, Pakistan's most populous province, has been witnessing a deepening leadership crisis amid political uncertainty over the last few weeks. 

On Friday, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) de-seated 25 legislators of the Punjab Assembly for defecting from ex-premier Imran Khan's PTI party and voting for opposition candidate Hamza Shehbaz in the chief minister's election last month.  

With these 25 lawmakers no longer members of the House, Shehbaz, who won an April 16 election for chief minister with the help of the dissident legislators, has lost his majority in the Punjab Assembly, raising questions about the status of his government.  

Uncertainty prevails over the post of Punjab governor as well. 

In early May, PM Sharif-led government in the center sent a summary to the president to remove Omar Sarfraz Cheema as the Punjab governor, nominating a senior ruling party leader Baligh-ur-Rehman as his replacement. 

President Arif Alvi had on May 9 rejected the summary, but Cheema was removed from the post the same day, with a Cabinet Division notification stating he had ceased to hold the office on the advice of PM Sharif sent to the president on two occasions. 

On Saturday, President Alvi conveyed to PM Sharif to reconsider his advice to appoint a new governor, saying Cheema “still holds the office of the governor and there is no occasion to propose a new appointment.” 

“Present circumstances demanded that the incumbent Governor should continue to hold that position,” President Alvi was quoted as saying by his office.