Punjab Assembly begins process to elect CM amid SIC boycott | Maqvi News

LAHORE: The election process for the chief minister of Punjab is underway amid a walkout by the Sunni Ittehad Council lawmakers after they were barred from speaking. 

The session, which began with over a 30-minute delay, was being presided over by newly-elected Punjab Assembly Speaker Malik Ahmad Khan when the SIC lawmakers walked out of the assembly.

At the start of the session, Speaker Khan administered oath to two MPAs and then assured the lawmakers that he would run the House without any bias. 

The speaker then briefed the Assembly that after completing the scrutiny of the nomination papers, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s (PML-N) Maryam Nawaz and SIC’s Rana Aftab Ahmad Khan had emerged as the candidates vying for the chief minister’s slot. 

Following this, the speaker directed the secretary of the Assembly to brief the members about the voting process. 

However, the start of the elections faced a delay as members of the Sunni Ittehad Council walked out of House.

The SIC’s candidate for CM requested the speaker to address the House on a point of order but was barred from speaking. 

“In today’s session, only elections will be held for the chief minster. You cannot speak in today’s session,” Speaker Khan told the SIC candidate as he tried to speak up. 

As the SIC MPAs walked out, the speaker formed a committee, comprising  Khawaja Salman Rafique, Salman Nazeer, Samiullah and Khalil Tahir Sindhu, to convince the legislators to return to the Assembly. 

The speaker then also sent PPP’s Ali Haider Gilani and PML-Q’s Chaudhry Shafay Hussain to convince the SIC MPAs to return for last time.

While sending them the speaker warned that if the lawmakers do not return then he would move forward with the proceedings.

However, the efforts to bring back the SIC lawmakers went in vain and the speaker proceeded with the proceedings to elect a new speaker. 

The number game

It seems PML-N candidate Maryam Nawaz is most likely to secure the office of CM as her party enjoys a majority in the provincial assembly after the February 8 general elections.

If successful in the elections, Maryam will be the first-ever female chief minister in Pakistan’s history. 

The PML-N currently has the backing of 224 MPAs in the provincial assembly.

Maryam’s opponent, SIC’s Rana Aftab Aftab Ahmad has the support of 103 MPAs. 

Aftab has served as a Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) MPA for three terms in the Punjab Assembly in 1988, 1993 and 2002. He joined the PTI in 2013 and is now serving his fourth term.

To win the CM’s election, a candidate needs to win the backing of the majority which is 187 members in the house that currently has 327 seats. 

Fourth Sharif family member to rule Punjab

Apart from becoming the first female chief minister in the country, Maryam will also become the fourth member of the Sharif family and first woman member of her family to get elected as CM if she wins the contest.

The PML-N senior vice president was elected on two seats of Lahore — NA 119 and PP-159 — later she withdrew from the National Assembly seat. 

In the PP-159 constituency, she contested against the PTI affiliated candidate Mehr Sharafat and won with a slim margin.

Overall, she is the sixth member of Sharif family who has been elected in a general or a by-election. 

Before her, Nawaz Sharif, Shehbaz Sharif, Abbas Sharif, Hamza Shehbaz and Begum Kalsoom Nawaz were elected from Lahore.

PML-N finalising cabinet

Meanwhile, the PML-N has started finalising the names for Maryam’s cabinet. 

Party sources said that it was decided that the provincial cabinet will be constituted in a phased manner and for the first phase some names were under discussion. 

They said the provincial cabinet of the PML-N leader will contain ministers from the allied parties.

Sources said in the first phase, 15 to 20 ministers were expected to be included in the cabinet from the PML-N and two each from the PPP and PML-Q, and one from the Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party (IPP).

The names under discussion included PML-N leaders Marriyum Aurangzeb, Azma Bokhari, Tahir Sindhu, Mian Mujtaba Shujaur Rahman, Khawaja Salman Rafiq, Bilal Yasin, Khawaja Imran Nazir, Rukhsana Kausar, Manshaullah Butt, Sardar Sher Ali Gurchani, Kazim Ali Pirzada, Colonel (retired) Muhammad Ayub Khan Gadhi, Malik Asif Bhai, Akhtar Bosal, Rahila Khadim Hussain, Mian Yawar Zaman, Fida Hussain Watto, Tanveer Aslam Malik, Malik Asad Khokhar, Farrukh Ali Javed and Sheikh Salman Naeem.

Sources further claimed that PPP’s Syed Ali Haider Gillani, Malik Ghazanfar Abbas Chheena of the IPP and Chaudhary Shafay Hussain of the PML-Q are likely to be inducted into the provincial cabinet.