Maryam Nawaz elected Punjab's first female CM amid SIC boycott

LAHORE: Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz nominee, Maryam Nawaz, has been elected as the first female chief minister of Punjab province amid a boycott of proceedings by the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC), ARY News reported on Monday.

The PML-N Senior Vice President Maryam Nawaz, who has become the first-ever female chief minister of Punjab, won the elections after receiving 220 votes.

Her opponent, Sunni Ittehad Council’s (SIC) candidate Rana Aftab Aftab Ahmad, received zero (0) votes due to the boycott.

The daughter of three-time prime minister has also become the fourth member of the Sharif family to get elected as Punjab CM.

PML-N supreme Nawaz Sharif, his brother Shehbaz Sharif and Hamza Shehbaz had earlier served as Punjab chief minister between 1985-2022.

Maryam Nawaz was elected on two seats in Lahore — NA 119 and PP-159 — during the February 8 general elections. She withdrew from the National Assembly seat.

In the PP-159 constituency, she defeated PTI-backed independent candidate Mehr Sharafat with a slim margin.

No desire for revenge, says CM Maryam

The newly elected Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz has asserted that she has no feelings or desire for revenge.

“I neither have a feeling of revenge or vengeance, she said in her victory speech.

Maryam Nawaz has said the safety of women in the province was her first priority. She also announced that free medicines will be provided at every government hospital across the province from today onwards.

She has plans to transform Punjab into an “economic hub” by creating an enabling environment for businessmen.

The newly elected CM Maryam also announced a Ramazan relief package “Nigheban” for the province.

“Essentials worth Rs6.5 to Rs7 million would be distributed to the public in packages during Ramazan,” she announced. The first female Punjab CM also announced free Wifi service for Lahore city.

SIC boycott election process

The session, which began at 11:30 am, was presided over by newly-elected Punjab Assembly Speaker Malik Ahmad Khan.

The Punjab Assembly session witnessed an uproar as members of the opposition Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) boycotted the proceedings.

At the start of the session, Speaker Khan said only elections will be held for the chief minster and no lawmaker was allowed to speak in today’s session.

As the SIC MPAs walked out, the speaker formed a committee, comprising Khawaja Salman Rafique, Salman Nazeer, Samiullah and Khalil Tahir Sindhu, to convince the legislators to return to the Assembly.

A day earlier, PML-N clinched victory in the Punjab Assembly speaker and deputy speaker elections in the house numerically dominated by the party.

PML-N’s leader Malik Muhammad Ahmed Khan was elected as PA Speaker, amassing a commanding 224 votes out of the total 327 cast in the house.

At the same time, Malik Zaheer Ahmed Channer, the PML-N candidate for the deputy speaker position, emerged victorious against Mohammad Moinuddin from the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC), garnering 220 votes.