PTI files reference against Shahbaz with PA speaker

LAHORE:Senior lawyer Senator Babar Awan has said that hearing of reference against Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif is a historic moment.

Talking to media outside Punjab Assembly on Monday after the hearing of reference filed by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf in the chamber of Speaker PA seeking disqualification of CM Punjab for alleged misuse of authority and violation of court’s orders, PTI counsel Senator Babar Awan said that courts had already ruled that family interest was preferred to public interest by the chief minister.

He said Speaker had a role like referee and expressed hope that case would be treated on merit, adding the other party should also be summoned by the chair for hearing.

Babar Awan said that as per court’s instructions, the PTI was appearing before the PA Speaker in connection with the reference filed by it as first it had to be taken up at this forum. He said if the Speaker didn’t send the reference to election commission by February 19, it would itself move to the EC.

He said that decision of court about sugar mills could become the reason of the chief minister’s disqualification, and alleged Sharifs were also defaulters in UK. To a question, he said that all parties were united to protect Article 62 and 63. Opposition Leader in Punjab Assembly Mian Mehmood-ul-Rasheed was also present on the occasion.

Moreover, former governor of Punjab Chaudhry Muhammad Sarwar in a statement said that the party would fight on every front to make Pakistan a corruption-free country.