Slams secretary role in assembly
Chief Justice Lahore High Court (LHC) Ameer Bhatti on Wednesday said that bringing ‘lotas’ in the Punjab Assembly by the lawmakers was a “shameful” act. A five-member larger bench of the LHC headed by Chief Justice Ameer Bhatti, resumed the hearing on separate pleas — filed by PTI and PML-Q — against Hamza Shahbaz’s election as CM.
At the outset of Wednesday’s hearing, Advocate Amir Saeed Rawn, PML-Q’s counsel apprised the court that IG Punjab ordered the police to enter the Punjab Assembly. The counsel argued that the IG Punjab had said that the police entered the House on the directives of the court.
At this, LHC CJ Ameer Bhatti said, “Everyone saw what had happened in the assembly [on that day].” The provincial assembly secretary apparently did not fulfill his responsibility, the judge observed.
The judge was referring to the ruckus that took place during the election of Punjab CM on April 16. Deputy Speaker Dost Mohammad Mazari was manhandled by the PTI lawmakers before the police intervened and restored the discipline in the legislature.
The PML-Q’s lawyer said that the deputy speaker had changed his loyalty and he was supporting the opposition instead of his party, the PTI.
“Instead of giving answers, you are taking the case in another direction,” the judge told the lawyer. Justice Bhatti remarked the way the deputy speaker was treated on that day was regrettable. The assembly’s secretary comes under the speaker and the deputy speaker, observed the court.
Giving his arguments, Barrister Ali Zafar, PTI’s counsel, said that the Supreme Court’s brief verdict is also enough for implementation.
“The constitution says whoever has a simple majority will become the chief minister,” says Ali Zafar. He said that the courts cannot interfere in parliamentary affairs, adding that the Constitution protects the speaker’s ruling.
