Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) members allegedly manhandled Punjab province assembly deputy speaker Dost Mohammad Mazari when the session convened to elect the province’s chief ministers.
The PTI members also swarmed around the speaker’s well in the assembly and charged at Mazari while chanting ‘lotas, lotas’ in protest against dissenting PTI members who joined hands with the opposition to see the ouster from the Pakistan government. The PTI members were referring to the dissident PTI members as lotas which means turncoats.
A report by GeoNews pointed out that pulled his hair despite the presence of security guards. The report also said that they threw actual lotas – round pots for carrying water – at Mazari. Mazari quickly left the Punjab province assembly.
Parvez Elahi of the Pakistan Muslim League (Q), who is facing Hamza Shahbaz of the Pakistan Muslim League (N) for the chief ministerial post, said that Mazari is taking orders from elsewhere while speaking to GeoNews. He is being backed by the PTI while Shahbaz is being backed by the opposition coalition.
Mazari, however, told reporters that despite the incidents the elections will be held today and the results will also be announced today itself. The Lahore High Court (LHC) Wednesday asked the deputy speaker Mazari to hold elections on Saturday. A tough competition between Elahi and Shahbaz is expected today but the incident has led to delay in voting which is yet to begin.
Shahbaz’s opposition coalition claims that it has the support of 200 members. Shahbaz will need the support of 186 members to become the chief minister of Punjab province.
Punjab province is without a chief minister for the past two weeks following the resignation of Usman Buzdar. On April 6, the joint opposition held a symbolic session of the provincial assembly where Shahbaz was elected as chief minister but following the high court order, Mazari was directed to hold elections on April 16.
Pakistan national assembly, however, elected its national assembly speaker unopposed. The Pakistan Peoples Party’s Raja Pervez Ashraf was elected unopposed as the speaker of the national assembly as deputy speaker Qasim Suri tendered his resignation. Raja Pervez Ashraf also served as Pakistan’s prime minister earlier in 2012.
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