Hamza Shahbaz's status as Punjab CM is in jeopardy, rules SC
- By Web Desk -
- Jul 23, 2022
ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court (SC) has ruled that PML-N leader Hamza Shahbaz’s status as Punjab chief minister (CM) is in jeopardy, ARY News reported on Saturday.
A three-member bench comprising Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial, Justice Ijazul Ahsan and Justice Munib Akhter issued a written order on PML-Q leader Pervez Elahi’s plea against Dost Mazari’s ruling in CM election case.
In its six-page written order after the day-long hearing, the court said: “Hamza Shahbaz will continue to work as a trustee chief minister till Monday.”
It ruled that Hamza should work as per the Constitution and law during the time period. However, the order, added: “As the chief minister, Hamza Shehbaz will not use his powers for political gains.”
The apex court noted that the counsel for the Deputy Speaker was not able to defend the ruling in terms of Article 63A (1)(b) of the Constitution. “The current status of Chief Minister Punjab Hamza Shehbaz is in jeopardy”, the order stated.
The apex court said that it didn’t want a vacuum to be created in such a large province. “Cannot leave the province without a chief executive,” the court ruled.
The court has also ordered Advocate-General Punjab Irfan Qadir to submit a written response regarding the CM election case. The apex court then adjourned the hearing until Monday.
CM Punjab election
It is pertinent to mention here that Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Hamza Shehbaz was re-elected as the chief minister (CM) of Punjab after votes of Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) were rejected by the Punjab Assembly Deputy Speaker.
According to details, Punjab Assembly Deputy Speaker Dost Mohammad Mazari – who chaired the session – ruled that the votes of PML-Q lawmakers will not be counted in the election of Punjab chief minister in the light of party head Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain’s letter.
Pervaiz Elahi – joint candidate of PTI and PML-Q – received 186 votes, while Hamza Shahbaz got 179 votes. However. 10 votes of PML-Q were cancelled by Deputy Speaker Dost Muhammad Mazari, hence taking the figure to 176.