LAHORE: Hamza Shehbaz, who many believe ceased to be Punjab chief minister after a verdict of the Supreme Court on the status of turncoats, said he would stay in the office “as long as Allah wills it”.
The apex court ruled on Tuesday that dissident lawmakers could not cast their vote as it interpreted Article 63-A of the Constitution which relates to the disqualification of parliamentarians for voting, or abstaining from voting, against the party guidelines.
Meanwhile, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) will also announce its verdict on a reference seeking the disqualification of 25 Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) lawmakers who crossed the floor and voted for the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) vice president during the election for the post of provincial chief executive.
Those defecting lawmakers’ votes were instrumental in getting Shehbaz elected as chief minister.
At a press conference in Lahore on Thursday, Shehbaz recalled that from the day he was appointed the chief executive of Punjab, numerous hurdles and roadblocks were created for him by the PTI.
“The way these people are creating problems in Punjab, whether it is the former governor [Omar Sarfraz Cheema] or the president [Arif Alvi] … The way they are spreading propaganda among the public … I have decided not to waste a second in making things easier for the people,” he promised.
He also announced relief for the people of the province and reduced price of 10 kilogrammes flour bag from Rs650 to Rs490. The people will not have to stand in queues for flour in Punjab now, he said.
While attacking the government of Imran Khan, he said the former prime minister played with the people of Pakistan. He further claimed that PTI government has destroyed the economy.
“They are not doing politics but spreading anarchy,” he said.
Shehbaz went on to say that Khan wants anarchy and chaos in the country. “He talks about revolution now but he has destroyed the country from his tsunami.”
He also said that the economy is on ventilator while political turmoil is on the rise.
Talking about enemies of Pakistan, he said that the enemy is trying to harm the country while Khan is trying to divide Pakistan Army with his conspiracies. “Imran is trying to destroy the institutions,” he said.
He also attacked Punjab Assembly Speaker Pervaiz Elahi, saying he is the custodian of the Parliament but he used hooligans in uniforms to attack the House.
He further lamented that it has been over a month but I still don’t have the cabinet.
