After the closure of the provincial assembly on Wednesday, the opposition lawmakers held a "symbolic session" of their own at a private hotel, with PML-N Vice-President Maryam Nawaz claiming that Hamza Shehbaz had been "elected as a chief minister [of] Punjab."

Earlier, in a tweet prior to the commencement of the session, Maryam claimed that the session would have the backing of the "Constitution and law" and will not just be symbolic.

"The session of the Punjab Assembly that is going to take place presently is not symbolic but a constitutional and legal one," she tweeted. "God willing, the PML-N is going to prove its majority."

Earlier today, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) submitted a no-confidence motion against Punjab Assembly (PA) Deputy Speaker Dost Muhammad Mazari, a development that comes after he had called the session to elect the chief minister.

PTI submits no-confidence motion against Punjab Assembly deputy speaker

On Tuesday, the session of the PA to elect a new chief minister for the province following Usman Buzdar’s resignation was adjourned till April 16. The session was initially scheduled for April 6 (today).

The reason cited for the delay was that the house and lobby have damages that need to be repaired.

However, Mazari called the PA session for Wednesday evening, dispelling the notion that it had been postponed till April 16. He said that it would be held at 7:30 pm today (Wednesday).

Meanwhile, Hamza, who is the Leader of the Opposition in PA, had earlier said that he had a majority in the provincial assembly and that the next chief minister will be from the PML-N.