Former Pakistan federal minister blames establishment for political turmoil

Former Pakistan Information Minister and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Fawad Chaudhry on Saturday said that the country had been suffering from a political crisis because of the "unnecessary adventure of the establishment".

Speaking to the media in Lahore, Chaudhry asked the establishments not to "trifle" with Pakistan as the country was in the middle of political and economic instability, The Express Tribune reported.

"How did Chaudhary Shujaat's letter land in the deputy speaker's pocket," Fawad wondered, adding that the Mazari should be summoned to court for contempt.

Meanwhile, the frustration after the result of the Punjab chief minister's re-election cooled down when the Supreme Court gave its verdict in the favour of the PTI, the party said that the decision would rout Pakistan Muslim League-N from Punjab, reported The Express Tribune.

The party further claimed the fall of Hamza Shehbaz-led government was a 'fait accompli'.

Speaking to the media outside the Supreme Court's Lahore registry on Saturday, PTI leader Farrukh Habib said that PML-N had lost the political battle and was left with no option to salvage the teetering Punjab government led by PML-N.

"Nobody is ready to defend the illegal and unconstitutional ruling of the deputy speaker," he said.

The PTI leader was referring to the apex court's short order issued earlier in the day, wherein the top court suspended the Punjab Assembly deputy speaker's ruling and restrained Hamza to exercise absolute powers and serve only as a "trustee" chief minister until the hearing resumed in Islamabad on Monday.

The ruling came a day after the dramatic day, Hamza Shehbaz has been re-elected as Chief Minister of Punjab as the provincial Assembly Deputy Speaker Dost Mohammad Mazari rejected the votes of Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) leader Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi.

As the vote counting in the crucial session of the Punjab provincial assembly began, Deputy Speaker Dost Mohammad Mazari ruled that PML-Q leader Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi's votes will not be counted in the election of the Punjab Chief Minister in light of party head Chaudhry Shujaat's letter, the Dawn reported.

According to Mazari, the joint candidate of PTI and PML-Q, Pervaiz Elahi received 186 votes, while Hamza Shehbaz got 179 votes. However, 10 votes of the PML-Q leader were cancelled by Deputy Speaker, reducing his vote count to 176.

Before announcing the result, Mazari read Shujaat's letter out loud. "As party head of Pakistan Muslim League, I have issued directions to all my provincial members to cast their votes in favour of Muhammad Hamza Shehbaz Sharif," Mazari quoted Hussain as saying, the Dawn reported.

"As per this letter, according to the ruling of the Supreme Court, all the 10 votes cast by PML-Q leaders have been rejected," Mazari ruled. The 10 members whose votes were not counted included Hafiz Ammar Yasir, Shuja Nawaz, Muhammad Abdullah Warraich, Parvez Elahi, Muhammad Rizwan, Sajjad Sajid Ahmed Khan, Ehsanullah Chaudhry, Muhammad Afzal, Bismah Chaudhry, and Khadija Umar.

The assembly session presided over by Deputy Speaker Dost Muhammad Mazari began with the recitation of the Quran and its translation, the Dawn reported.