CM’s election controversy: Qureshi accuses Zardari of ‘playing with Constitution’

LAHORE: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s senior leaders on Saturday said that on July 22, an auction instead of an election took place in the Punjab Assembly; “the Constitution was blatantly violated, and subsequently the people’s mandate was stolen”.

While talking to media outside the Supreme Court Lahore Registry, PTI Vice Chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi pointed out that Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) Chief Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain’s letter (presented in the Punjab Assembly) has no legal standing, and it was neither circulated among the Q-League members nor did they know about its existence.

“The letter suddenly appears from the pocket of Punjab Assembly Deputy Speaker Dost Mohammad Mazari and no one knew about it. Thus, this showed bad intentions of the ruling party,” he added.

He lambasted Pakistan Peoples Party’s Co-Chairman Asif Ali Zardari for “playing” with the Constitution, democracy, and political ethics. “In our opinion, the Deputy Speaker’s ruling violated the Constitution; it was illegal and unethical”, he added.

“If the people’s mandate was not accepted then the outcome will be disastrous, as we have seen in the past. We have to learn from the past mistakes and move in the right direction”, he added.

PTI Senior Vice President Fawad Chaudhry told the media that the Deputy Speaker stole the mandate of the people; “he violated the Constitution and ethics of the politics, which was also an opinion of many legal experts”.

He further said that the superior court should summon him for contempt of court. “The country cannot accept the politics of Asif Ali Zardari”, he added.

He further said that the country was making progress, but now its economy was on the verge of collapse; “it has suffered irreparable damage and Pakistan was on the verge of getting bankrupt”.

He showed concern over the decision-making power of Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain; “his ability to make decisions was limited due to his illness. However, he had said that he would not support a PTI candidate (Pervaiz Elahi) for the Punjab Chief Minister”, he added.

To a question, he claimed that Shujaat’s thumb impressions “were taken on a blank paper”. He hoped that the superior court would provide them justice and also urged the establishment not to “play” with the country and added that Hamza Shehbaz was not an elected Chief Minister of Punjab.

Moreover, PTI General Secretary Asad Umar said that the court dismissed the Deputy Speaker’s claim that his ruling was based on the Constitution and the Supreme Court’s ruling on Article 63A.

“The people should not worry as the present government was in its last legs and it will fall very soon. The system based on a few powerful families and persons who make important decisions behind closed doors was on the verge of collapse, and a new system will replace it under which decisions will be taken as per the aspiration of the people”, he added.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2022