In Pakistan, protests erupts after Punjab Deputy Speaker re-elects Shehbaz Sharif's son as CM
Protesting the results of the Punjab CM election, PTI supporters in Pakistan are demonstrating in all major cities including Karachi, Lahore, and Islamabad after Punjab Assembly"s Deputy Speaker Dost Muhammad Mazari rejected PML-Q votes in the Punjab CM election voting
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Karachi, July 23: In Pakistan, former PM Imran Khan's supporters erupted massive protests outside the headquarters of the Peshawar Corps Commander and chanted slogans "Hum Leke Rahenge Azadi". This came after victory of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Hamza Shahbaz as the Chief Minister of Punjab province was declared.
Protesting the results of the Punjab CM election, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) supporters are demonstrating in all major cities including Karachi, Lahore, and Islamabad after Punjab Assembly's Deputy Speaker Dost Muhammad Mazari rejected PML-Q votes in the Punjab CM election voting.
Hamza Shehbaz, son of current PM Shehbaz Sharif, on Saturday took oath as Punjab Chief Minister. Hamza Shehbaz retained the seat after PML-Q leader Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain sent a letter to the Deputy Speaker telling him that he had instructed his MPAs to vote for the younger Sharif instead of Pervez Elahi.
The PTI had approached the Supreme Court against the Deputy Speaker's ruling and expressed the hope that it would emerge victorious. PTI Chairman and former prime minister Imran Khan called for protests against the outcomes of the elections.
"Salutations to you Karachi people, it is impossible to defeat your determination. I told the leadership in Lahore that there are thousands of people who are determined to go to CM House and Bilal House. Patalgah, my application has been approved for hearing. We will give our next action plan tomorrow. President PTI Karachi," tweeted PTI Karachi.
Why are the protests taking place?
Earlier, PML-N leader Hamza Shahbaz was re-elected as the chief minister (CM) of Punjab. Pervaiz Elahi - joint candidate of PTI and PML-Q - received 186 votes, while Hamza Shahbaz got 179 votes. However, 10 votes of PML-Q were canceled by Deputy Speaker Dost Muhammad Mazari, hence taking the figure to 176.
Following the counting of votes, the deputy speaker, citing Article 63A of the Constitution, rejected ten votes cast by the PML-Q members. As a result, Hamza received 179 votes, while Elahi managed to bag 176 votes.
Notably, the Supreme Court in its decision on a presidential reference seeking interpretation of Article 63-A of the Constitution which is related to the status of defecting lawmakers, said the votes of defecting lawmakers will not be counted.
Nationwide protests happening right now in - Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Lahore, Karachi, Peshawar, Quetta, Multan, Gujrat, DG Khan, Faislabad, Sialkot, Gujranwala, Sukkur, Layyah, Larkana and Hyderabad.