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Opposition to hold symbolic Punjab Assembly session at Lahore hotel

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LAHORE: The Opposition on Wednesday decided to hold a symbolic Punjab Assembly session at a local hotel in Lahore after the PTI-led government sealed off the provincial assembly.

PML-N Vice President Maryam Nawaz and Opposition Leader in the Punjab Assembly Hamza Shahbaz have reached the hotel, while PML-N members and members of the PTI’s Jahangir Tareen and Aleem Khan are already present there.

PML-N leader and MPA Rana Mashhood Ahmad Khan has claimed that more than 200 MPAs are present in the session.

The Tareen and Aleem groups have parted ways with the PTI and Prime Minister Imran Khan and decided to support the Opposition’s candidate for the chief minister’s office.

The chief minister’s office had fallen vacant after PTI’s Usman Buzdar resigned following Prime Minister Imran Khan’s decision to nominate PML-Q’s Pervaiz Elahi as the new CM.

Hours before this, the PML-N leader had said that she would attend the “Punjab Assembly ijlaas” to support Hamza — “who clearly has the majority” in the provincial assembly.

The Opposition parties are holding a symbolic session of the Punjab Assembly — like the one held in the National Assembly after the no-confidence motion was dismissed by Deputy Speaker Qasim Suri — where they will elect Hamza as the new chief minister.\

Meanwhile, the crisis in the Punjab Assembly deepened after the PTI filed a no-confidence motion against Deputy Speaker Dost Muhammad Mazari and the joint Opposition also decided to file a similar motion against Speaker Pervaiz Elahi.

The political situation took a new turn after Deputy Speaker Dost Muhammad Mazari decided to summon a session today, instead of April 16 — a decision that drew the PTI and PML-Q’s ire, and they refused to accept it.

On the instructions of Punjab Assembly Speaker Chaudhry Parvez Elahi, a heavy contingent of police has been deployed outside the assembly secretariat to avoid any untoward situation.

Elahi also banned the entry of media persons to the provincial assembly, security staff confirmed.

The security of the provincial legislature has also put up barbed wires on the main gate of the assembly.

Speaking to Geo News earlier today, Mazari had said that the Punjab Assembly secretariat was “not cooperating” with him.

“I did not consult the Punjab government, the PTI or the speaker. I summoned the Assembly session in light of the Supreme Court’s orders,” Mazari had said.

The speaker, Elahi, has also withdrawn the powers of the deputy speaker.

Number game in Punjab

Both candidates — Hamza and Elahi — need at least 186 votes in the House of 371 to win the poll for the slot of CM Punjab.

With the house comprising 371 MPAs, the PML-N seems highly optimistic about regaining the crown of Punjab that it lost in 2018.

The Opposition claims that its joint strength comprising its own 160 MPAs (PML-N total strength is 165 out of which five MPAs are siding with the government), seven MPAs of PPP, and the rest from the rebel groups of PTI headed by Tareen and Aleem and four out of five independents, stands above 188.

On the other hand, the ruling coalition’s candidate has also used his experience and influence in winning the support of the JKT group’s MPAs. MPA Rafaqat Gilani, a part of the JKT group, has publicly claimed that he was “siding with Imran and cannot leave him at a crucial time”.

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A 4.9-magnitude earthquake rattles Swat and surrounding areas.

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Late on Thursday night, an earthquake with a magnitude of 4.9 shook the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, as well as the surrounding districts of Swat.

Fearfully, people emerged from their houses and began reciting passages from the Holy Quran. The earthquake did not cause any documented casualties or damage to property in any area in Swat.

The earthquake’s epicenter, according to the National Seismic Monitoring Centre in Islamabad, was situated 71 kilometers deep in the border region between Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Tajikistan.

A 5.3-magnitude earthquake that struck earlier in the day rocked several Pakistani cities, including Islamabad, Peshawar, Mardan, Kohat, and the Swat valley. In addition, Lower Dir, Malakand, and Muzaffarabad all experienced earthquakes.

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Pakistan

Sources claim that Babar was reappointed as the cricket team’s captain.

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Reappointing Babar Azam to lead the national squad upon the call of the newly-formed selection committee was decided by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Friday.

Sources claim that Babar will captain the Green Shirts in the upcoming five-match Twenty20 series against New Zealand, which kicks off on April 20.

After the team’s crushing defeat in the ICC World Cup 2023, Shaheen Shah Afridi was chosen as the white-ball captain, while Shan Masood was named the red-ball captain by the previous PCB administration.

The sources claimed that Babar’s appointment as captain was suggested by the selection committee. They said he will go to the Kakul training camp as captain.

Shaheen had chosen to step down, but his close friends urged him against it and to wait for the PCB’s decision, according to individuals close to him.

After guiding the team for four years, Babar resigned as captain of the national team in all formats in November of last year. After Pakistan’s poor performance in both the Asia Cup and the World Cup, where they were unable to advance to the semi-finals, he faced criticism for several months.

Although Babar was named Test and white-ball captain in 2020 and 2019, respectively, the side has neither won an Asia Cup nor an ICC championship while he has been captain.

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Food

Two children died after consuming apples treated with pesticide.

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 four more children were ill and at least two toddlers died in Abbottabad on Thursday after consuming apples treated with pesticide.

The specifics include that as the children were traveling home from their studies at the madrassa, they ate sprayed apples from a garden. As a result, six of the children’s conditions worsened, and they were sent to a local hospital right away.

Four children were in serious condition and two died in the hospital while receiving treatment. Five-year-old Fanan and seven-year-old Hina Shehzadi were named as the deceased.

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