Govt working on summary to impose Governor’s Rule in Punjab: Rana Sana

The federal government has started work on a summary for possible imposition of Governor’s Rule in Punjab, revealed Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah, reported 24NewsHD TV channel.

Addressing a news conference in Islamabad on Wednesday, the interior minister said the political situation has deteriorated after the Supreme Court’s decision to declare Pervaiz Elahi as new Punjab chief minister.

Rana Sanaullah declared that any ban on his or other ministers’ entry into Punjab would lead to governor rule in the country’s most powerful province. “Ban on my entry in Punjab will be enough for governor rule in Punjab,” he said.

The interior minister’s statement came in response to reporters’ query about the new Punjab government’s apparent plans to impose restrictions on a number of federal ministers including Rana Sanaullah in an effort to pressurise the federal government to call early elections.

Rana Sanaullah lamented the Supreme Court’s decision and used the term “bench fixing” that was used by his party leader Maryam Nawaz at a news conference on Monday.

The minister further bemoaned the language used by Supreme Court judge Justice Qazi Faez Isa in a letter to the Judicial Commission of Pakistan. “Such things are really deplorable and if this is true then this is a moment of reflection for the nation as to where we are heading,” he averred.

Rana Sanaullah said the court’s decision to not count the MPs’ vote was an effort to give it retrospective effect. “Never such a thing has happened as a result 25 votes were minus,” he stressed.

The minister defended his argument by quoting the ECP’s decision that the parliamentarians were deseated after PTI leader Asad Umar’s letter that said such members violated the party’s direction.

Rana Sanaullah said the same course was taken in the Punjab CM runoff election by the issuance of a letter from the party head. “This has led to further complication and destabilise the political and economical situation. The dollar will continue to jump amidst this.”

“Economy and political instability will remain so when the court takes decisions against political stability,” the minister said, adding in his view an independent and transparent judiciary was important for a society’s development. 

“There was never a time when the court took unbiased decisions,” he said in response to a query and called for society’s role in averting such an apparent trend.

No talk of curtailing SC powers

Dispelling the impression that there was any talk of clipping the Supreme Court (SC) powers, Rana Sana said that respect for the judiciary was imperative for every society. 

He said although he himself was a critic of the SC’s decision in the Punjab Assembly deputy speaker’s ruling case, still he felt sad when he heard people commenting on the verdict in a demeaning manner. “However, there are certain factors which embolden people to talk like this,” he opined. 

The minister also claimed that former prime minister and PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif would return to the country and lead the election campaign. 

Ulema team in Kabul

Responding to a question, the minister said “Ulema who are in Kabul [for talks with the banned TTP] have not gone on a government level. But, this is in the government’s knowledge and if someone talks and if it leads to peace so such efforts should not be stopped or opposed.”

Reporter: Awais Kiyani