Punjab Assembly session to elect new chief minister adjourned till April 6

The crucial Punjab Assembly session on Sunday was adjourned till April 6 without voting to elect the new leader of the house amid ruckus by the opposition and government lawmakers, Aaj News reported.

The development comes after Prime Minister Imran Khan advised President Dr Arif Alvi to dissolve assemblies and call early elections.

The provincial assembly was to vote to elect the new leader of the house, with Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid's (PML-Q) Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz's (PML-N) Hamza Shehbaz in the race to become the next chief minister, following the resignation of Usman Buzdar.

On PM Imran's advice, President Alvi approves dissolution of assembly

No-confidence motion against PM Imran disallowed

In a related development, Deputy Speaker National Assembly Qasim Suri dismissed the no-confidence motion against PM Imran after newly-appointed Law Minister Fawad Chaudhry argued during the question/answer session that the motion was unconstitutional, and an act to topple the sitting government with the help of foreign powers.

“No foreign power shall be allowed to topple an elected government through a conspiracy,” Suri said, adding that the points raised by the minister were “valid”.

Federal govt removes Chaudhry Sarwar as Punjab governor

In a surprise move, the federal government on Sunday also removed Governor Punjab Chaudhry Muhammad Sarwar from his post. The development comes hours before crucial sessions of the National and Punjab assemblies.

The government appointed Omar Sarfaraz Cheema as the new governor of Punjab.

Crucial Punjab Assembly session adjourned till Sunday

Saturday's Punjab Assembly session, which commenced after a delay of four hours, was adjourned minutes after it began.

Meanwhile, Leader of the Opposition in Punjab Assembly Hamza Shehbaz said earlier that he had a majority in the provincial assembly, adding that the next chief minister will be from the PML-N.