No-Trust Twist: Deputy Speaker calls Punjab Assembly session, PML-Q brings no-confidence motion against Deputy Speaker

Deputy Speaker of Punjab Assembly Sardar Dost Muhammad Mazari summoned a crucial session to vote on Chief Minister (CM) Punjab at 7:30pm on Wednesday (today).

Following this, it has been reported that Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) has submitted no-confidence motion to remove the deputy speaker. While reacting to the news, Mazari said that he can still preside over the session.

However, journalist Hamid Mir said that the gates of the Punjab Assembly have been sealed.

According to local media channels, the deputy speaker issued a written order for convening session of the assembly on Tuesday. The order reads: “Deputy speaker orders that instead of the earlier announced date of April 16th, the next sitting of 40th session of Punjab Assembly will now be held on Wednesday at 7:30pm.”

Talking to Geo News, Mazari clarified that today’s session agenda includes vote on the election of a new CM Punjab. He said, “I have released the order of the day in the light of Supreme Court directions.”

“We are answerable to the apex court. We will not postpone the voting and will try our best to complete the process today”, he added. While talking about the confusion regarding the session dates, Mazari claimed that Punjab Assembly staff have not been cooperating with him and Assembly staff is responsible for the confusion.

When asked about the legal status of his order, Mazari said that it is just an order that needs the Assembly secretariat’s signature, without which the session cannot be held. He added that the Assembly staff and Secretariat Assembly should issue a gazette notification on his order but they are not following the legal procedures

On the contrary, PML-Q leader Moonis Elahi told Dawn that the notice circulating on the media is ‘fake’ as it does not have a diary number and is written on a plain piece of paper. He asserted that the session would be held on April 16.

In a tweet, journalist Ahmad Waleed claimed that spokesperson of the Punjab Assembly has also said that the session will be convened on April 16, adding that “no notification” was issued for today’s meeting.

پنجاب اسمبلی کاُاجلاس 16 اپریل کو ہی ہو گا۔ آج کے اجلاس کا کوئی نوٹیفکیشن جاری نہیں ہوا۔ ترجمان پنجاب اسمبلی
اسمبلی اجلاس آج ہی ہو گا۔ ڈپٹی سپیکر پنجاب اسمبلی۔ #Punjab

— AHMAD WALEED (@AhmadWaleed) April 6, 2022

Earlier, through an official notification, Mazari himself postponed on Tuesday the session of the Punjab Assembly till April 16.