Lahore High Court on Friday reinstated Parvez Elahi as Punjab’s Chief Minister and his Cabinet after the assurance by the latter that he won’t advise the dissolution of the provincial assembly without securing the vote of confidence first.
The order was passed after the PML-Q leader gave the guarantee to the court, bringing days of intense wrangling to an end.
Earlier, Elahi’s counsel Ali Zafar submitted an undertaking in LHC that the assembly will not be dissolved unless the chief minister has established his majority in the House through a Vote of Confidence, as advised by the governor.
The counsel for the governor stated on the occasion that the notification could be withdrawn if the CM seeks a Vote of Confidence.
The LHC had noted that the Chief Minister should have sought a vote of trust when he was asked to do so.
The remarks were made by Justice Abid Aziz while hearing the CM Elahi’s petition against his dismissal from the post by Governor Baleegh-ur-Rehman.
The court also said the decision issued did not mean to ‘bind’ the parties to take a vote of confidence.
Adjourning the proceedings, LHC sought presence of all sides involved in the case on January 11, 2023.
The PML-Q leader had approached LHC, terming the move “unconstitutional, unlawful and of no legal effect”.
This morning, the governor asked Elahi to continue working as Punjab CM after dismissing him and his Cabinet in the same order.
A notification was issued to this effect in the early hours of Friday.
On Dec 19, a delegation of PPP and PML-N submitted the motion against Elahi, saying political parties have lost their confidence in him as the Leader of the House.
In view of the motion, Governor Punjab had summoned the session on Wednesday (Dec 21).
Analysts say CM Elahi could find it difficult to retain chief ministership amid the opposition’s move.
Elahi required 186 votes to win the confidence of the House. Among 371 members, he may have the support of 180 members from Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf and 10 from Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid.
