Ruckus in Punjab Assembly: Video of injured Speaker Pervaiz Elahi cursing PML-N’s leaders goes viral
- 16 Apr 2022
Tariq Butt, Correspondent
Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Hamza Shahbaz was elected the new chief minister of Punjab following a chaotic session at the provincial assembly that saw Deputy Speaker Sardar Dost Muhammad Mazari attacked and PML-Q leader Chaudhry Parvez Elahi get injured.
Hamza garnered 197 votes to beat Elahi — his rival, whose party PML-Q and ally Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf (PTI) boycotted the election that began after more than five hours of delay following a number of altercations and melees on the floor throughout the day.
Prior to the resumption of the session, television footage showed Punjab Assembly Speaker Pervaiz Elahi being given oxygen while his right forearm was bandaged.
After the scuffle that left the acting speaker reportedly injured, Elahi met members of local and international media at his chamber in the Punjab Assembly to clear his stance on the issue.
Elahi has cursed his opponents saying that he would not forgive them till the “Day of Judgement.” “I am making an appeal that Almighty Allah do justice to me... and make an example out of them,” Elahi can be heard saying in a video that went viral on social media.
Referring to PML-N leaders, the provincial assembly speaker said he would not forgive them for “torturing and breaking his hand.”
He blamed the scuffle on the police force accompanying Mazari for creating a ruckus in the house by allegedly assaulting the members of the government. The women lawmakers went to the dais of Mazari to "convince" him but they were assaulted by the police force deployed with the acting speaker, Elahi claimed.
Elahi also claimed that he was injured in an alleged attack on him by PML-N lawmakers. He alleged that PML-N lawmaker Rana Mashood broke his hand. "During his (Shahbaz Sharif's) exile, I took care of Hamza but today he showed his reality," he said. "This is Sharif's democracy. They have crossed the limits today."
Elahi said the PML-N had "taken revenge" from him today and accused Punjab Inspector General of Police (IGP) Rao Sardar Ali Khan of acting directly on Shahbaz Sharif's directives.
"Shahbaz sent the IGP to the House. Police can never enter the House. This has happened for the first time in the history of Pakistan," he said. "The court does not listen to me either," Elahi complained.
Earlier, slogans were chanted by both the parties, while PTI members threw lotas at the opposition benches, leading to open altercations and fights on the floor of the house.
When Mazari entered the assembly, members of the treasury benches threw lotas at him and tried to circle him, while one of the MPAs pulled his hair and others were seen taking shots at him. Mazari was immediately shifted to his chamber by assembly guards.
To control the situation inside the house, the Lahore senior superintendent of police (SSP), Operations, along with a huge contingent of police officers entered the assembly in civil clothes but later exited the hall after protests from Elahi.
