Asif Ali Zardari summons PPP's Punjab parliamentarians

LAHORE: Former President and Pakistan Peoples’ Party (PPP) co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari has summoned the party’s Punjab parliamentarian to Bilawal house Lahore, ARY News reported on Saturday.

According to details, the PPP co-Chairman summoned the meeting of Punjab parliamentarians to Bilawal house Lahore to discuss the political situation of the province.

The meeting was summoned in the wake of dissolution of Punjab Assembly after Chief Minister (CM) Pervaiz Elahi obtained vote of confidence.

Sources told ARY News that PPP’s parliamentary leader Syed Hassan Murtaza has reached Bilawal house Lahore.

Earlier this week, Punjab CM Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi managed to get a vote of confidence from the Punjab Assembly after the opposition walked out claiming that the vote was “bulldozed” and “unconstitutional”.

Speaker Sibtain Khan, who presided over the session, said that Elahi had received 186 votes exactly the number required to retain his position and one less than the 187 that PTI leaders had claimed to have prior to voting.

Ahead of the voting, government and opposition lawmakers had renewed hostilities around the speaker’s dais and engaged each other in angry jostling. Shortly after, the opposition MPAs staged a boycott of the session and walked out.

Outside the Punjab Assembly, Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah labelled the session’s proceedings “against the rules and Constitution”, and accused the speaker of “bulldozing” the vote of confidence.

Sanaullah and another PML-N leader Ata Tarar said that the vote of confidence will be challenged in the court.

Earlier, PTI Vice President Fawad Chaudhry said that the PTI-PML-Q coalition had the support of 187 MPAs a claim reiterated by Mian Mahmoodur Rashid.