Amraiz Khan Lahore
The Lahore High Court on Wednesday adjourned the hearing on petition against election of the Chief Minister Punjab till today, Thursday. A five-member larger bench, headed by Justice Sadaqat Ali Khan, will hear the case.
During the hearing, the bench sought arguments from Hamza’s lawyer that whether the Supreme Court’s verdict on the presidential reference related to defecting lawmakers applies to past events.
Hamza’s counsel maintained that the ruling doesn’t apply to past events unless the apex court itself says so. In a previous hearing the high court had hinted at holding fresh election for the post of Punjab’s chief minister under April 16 circumstances, when incumbent Hamza Shahbaz was elected in a poll on a court order.
PTI’s counsel Amir Saeed Rawn Advocate told the court that as per the division list, Hamza Shehbaz had received 197 votes in the election for the Punjab chief minister while his opponent Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi received none.
The judge remarked that must be due to the boycott of the election by both by Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf and Pakistan Muslim League-Q.
Rawn Advocate, however, told the court there was no boycott. “The fact is that members of the Punjab Assembly belonging to both the parties were not allowed to vote,” he added.
