Punjab CM elections: Asad Umar registers case in SC against Rana Sanaullah

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Asad Umar on Wednesday approached the Supreme Court of Pakistan to lodge a case against Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah for interfering in the election of chief minister of Punjab.

In a tweet, he said “the blatant attempt to interfere in the CM election process, use of police & special branch and open threats by interior minister are a clear contempt of the July 1 decision of SC.”

On July 1, the Supreme Court of Pakistan announced that re-election for the post of Chief Minister Punjab will take place on July 22.

Punjab CM re-election to take place on July 22: Supreme Court

The decision came after the hours-long hearing on PTI’s plea against the Lahore High Court’s verdict of holding a re-poll for the Punjab chief minister.

Asad Umar’s move comes after Sanaullah questioned what PTI’s candidate for CM Pervaiz Elahi would do if five MPAs failed to show up on the day of the vote (July 22).

He also stated that PTI had 188 votes while the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) had 180 votes.

On Tuesday, Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi moved the Supreme Court and sought contempt of court proceeding against Sanaullah, Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb and Punjab Chief Minister Hamza Shehbaz.

Pointing towards a threatening statement from the interior minister, Elahi requested the court to summon all three officials.

In the by-elections for the 20 constituencies of the Punjab Assembly held on Sunday, PTI emerged victorious after bagging 15 out of 20 seats. Since then, the party has been preparing for the CM elections and intends to elect Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi as the chief minister of Punjab.

Punjab by-elections: PTI trounces PML-N; victory will add to IK’s narrative

On Tuesday, Sanaullah expressed optimism that the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz will bounce back in the next general elections and cited that the Punjab by-election results cannot be used to gauge PML-N’s popularity because party workers did not accept the candidates.

In a tweet, he said that “we have introspected on the results of the by-elections to address our shortcomings.”

Rana Sanaullah optimistic for PML-N’s turnaround in general elections

The party will bounce back by outperforming its opponents in the next elections, he hoped.

In a separate tweet, he said state institutions should not be bothered by Imran Khan’s blackmailing and bullying, rather they should seek their legal options.