The Pakistan Institute of Legislative Development and Transparency (PILDAT) has issued a report detailing its assessment of the recently-concluded general election, expressing deep concerns over a decline in fairness scores compared to previous election cycles.
Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah on Wednesday warned of imposing governor's rule in Punjab if he was restricted from entering the province.
Addressing a press conference in Islamabad, he said he had already begun drafting a summary for the imposition of governor's rule, which is moved by the interior ministry, because of the kind of statements opposition political leaders had been making.
"If my entry is restricted, it will be grounds for governor's rule," he asserted.
The interior minister's presser comes hours after PML-Q's Chaudhry Parvez Elahi was sworn in as the Punjab chief minister following the Supreme Court verdict which declared Hamza Shehbaz's victory in the July 22 run-off election as void.
President Dr Arif Alvi administered the oath to Elahi at Aiwan-i-Sadr in Islamabad. Elahi had to rush from Lahore to the federal capital after Punjab Governor Balighur Rehman refused to carry out the job.
Elahi's swearing-in capped a months-long saga over the provincial chief executive that began with Usman Buzdar's resignation.
During today's press conference, the minister said the SC's decision had "created complications and destabilised the political situation" because of which the rupee was tanking and the stock market was falling.
Even a second-grader would interpret Article 63-A — which is related to the disqualification of lawmakers over defection — as saying that the votes of dissident lawmakers would be counted in the election, he claimed.
He further stated that the SC's recent verdict contradicted the Election Commission of Pakistan's (ECP) decision to de-seat 25 dissident PTI lawmakers who had voted for Hamza in the April 16 election, which was, in turn, based on an order of the apex court.
The ECP's verdict had been based on MPAs not following the instructions of the party head whereas the SC had stated the parliamentary party head's instructions should be followed, he stated.
He went on to say that Hamza should have remained the chief minister since the votes of those 25 dissident lawmakers would not be subtracted from his tally in the April election.
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