In the midst of a hectic session that took place early on Thursday, Punjab Chief Minister Pervaiz Elahi won the vote of confidence with the support of 186 Punjab Assembly members.
After criticising Elahi’s conduct, the opposition left the meeting. A new session began after midnight with the vote of confidence on the agenda after Wednesday’s session had continued late into Thursday.
As Raja Basharat requested a vote of confidence in the assembly secretariat, Elahi, a close ally of Imran Khan, skipped out on the day’s proceedings in the house and showed up to the parliamentary party meeting.
Members of the PML-N and PPP raised their voices in protest as soon as he entered the assembly room and began chanting.
After the bells had rung for five minutes, the members hurried to the floor.
Elahi garnered 186 votes, which was exactly what he needed to keep his post and one fewer than the 187 votes that PTI officials had claimed to have. Speaker Sibtain Khan, who presided over the meeting, made the announcement.
There was a commotion in the assembly as the legislators from the government and opposition sides screamed anti-one another sentiments.
In a media-sparking statement, The PML-N’s interior minister, Rana Sanaullah, accused that khan and other members “bulldozing the vote of confidence.”
Sanaullah claimed that the speaker disregarded the PTI-backed government’s demand to include the opposition in the counting process since they were unable to secure the necessary number of votes. He cited this as a justification.
Rana suggested during the media event that the federal government would consider imposing governor control in Punjab.
Ata Tarar, the leader of the PML-N, proposed going to court to challenge the confidence vote.
In front of the gathering, a sizable group of police officers gathered under the direction of Lahore CCPO Ghulam Mehmood Dogar.
On orders from senior officials, every SSP in Lahore was also instructed to attend the assembly.
