LAHORE -  PTI leaders will be meeting Speaker Punjab Assembly Rana Muhammad Iqbal in his chamber today to present their arguments on the disqualification reference they had filed against Punjab Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif last month.

Through a letter, the Speaker had earlier called Ejaz Ch and Opposition leader Mehmoodur Rashid to appear in his chamber on Monday (today) to provide them an opportunity to plead their case. 

The PTI leaders yesterday held a news conference to announce that their lawyer Dr Babar Awan will also accompany them to the Speaker’s chamber to witness the proceedings. They also questioned Speaker’s impartiality stating that Opposition wanted to speak on the issue in the Punjab Assembly but he adjourned the session sine die to avoid discussion on the subject.

The PTI had filed a disqualification reference with the Punjab Assembly Speaker against Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif on January 20 on the plea that he was no longer “Sadiq and ameen” under Article 62 of the Constitution.

The reference against the Chief Minister was filed in the light of Lahore High Court decision of October 10, 2016 declaring the relocation of Ittefaq and Chaudhry Sugar Mills to South Punjab illegal. These mills were relocated to the cotton-growing areas despite an official ban.

In their reference, the PTI leaders have also mentioned that a London court had on March 16, 1999, declared that Shehbaz Sharif was defaulter of around 18 million US dollars.

They have maintained that Shehbaz Sharif had violated his oath and misused his powers, as he preferred personal interests over national interest.