The opposition in the Punjab Assembly is more vocal but has less influence.
The PML-N appears to be displeased with the presence of legislators in the PA session.
LAHORE: The opposition, particularly the members from the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), proved to be the loudest but less successful in proving their numerical strength, to the point of causing pandemonium in the Punjab Assembly.
The most senior PML-N leaders rarely attended assemblies. While Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and his son, Hamza Shehbaz, were absent, Khawaja Asif, Rana Sanaullah, Khawaja Saad Rafique, and others may have been there to oversee the parliamentary party meeting, plan ahead, or check to see if the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) was suspending the “vote of confidence” rules.
A source claims that there weren’t enough PML-N legislators present for either the assembly sessions or the parliamentary party meeting. He continued that only two parliamentarians from the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) were present compared to the roughly 150 PML-N parliamentary members.
There were 140 members from the PML-N and PPP present in the assembly. The leadership did not seem to find the defences of the absentees convincing. Prior to the house proceedings on January 10 (today), the PML-N leaders summoned a second meeting to secure a sufficient number of members.
Azma Zahid Bukhari and Khalil Tahir Sindhu of the PML-N debunked the notion that the party had insufficient representation by pointing out that 167 parliamentarians were from the party in addition to 4 independents, 5 PPP members, and one irate lawmaker. According to the figures, the opposition was represented by 177 people on Monday.
Azma Bukhari estimated the size of the opposition at 176, noting that three were absent due to medical reasons. She quickly clarified, though, that this did not imply that they would not appear on election day.
The PML-N legislators were tasked with stopping the assembly proceedings by any means necessary, but their efforts fell short of their goals. Without being distracted by the opposition’s behaviour, the government was able to pass a record-breaking 21 laws.
When tempers erupted, some PML-N legislators advanced towards the treasury benches, but after Speaker Sibtain Khan’s prompt intervention, they retreated to their desks. The majority of PML-N MPs sat in their seats, but a few went outside to talk to their top leaders.
The opposition and the treasury benches had one thing in common: each side boasted of having the necessary 186 members and promised the other a “surprise” on the day of the vote of confidence.
According to Khawaja Asif, Saad Rafique, and Rana Sana, the PTI did not have the necessary number of votes, hence the vote of confidence was being postponed under various justifications. They claimed that the PTI was hiding behind the legal system.
On the other side, PTI MPs Muhammad Basharat Raja, Fayazul Hassan Chohan, Mian Aslam Iqbal, and others asserted that if the court ordered the chief minister to seek the vote of confidence, everyone would be in for a surprise.
According to a PTI source, they did not anticipate the subject moving near a vote of confidence. They stated that the only time they could receive a vote of confidence was if the court ordered them to. They declared that they did not recognise the governor’s order since it was unlawful.
