Parvez Elahi Wins Vote Of Confidence, Will Remain CM Punjab

Parvez Elahi won the vote of confidence of the Punjab Assembly and will retain his post as the province’s chief minister, late on Wednesday.

The vote was taken amid a boycott of the session by the opposition and a ruckus in the House, as both sides engaged in an intense war of words.

The opposition cast doubts on the transparency of the voting process and announced to approach court against the same.

Both PML-Q, allied with PTI, and arch-rivals PML-N earlier claimed to have the required numbers to win the crucial vote of trust.

Earlier today, in a much anticipated hearing at the Lahore High Court, Elahi’s lawyer was asked how much time he required to take the vote of confidence. Otherwise, the court remarked it would fix a date for the vote in the Punjab provincial assembly.

The petition against the removal of the chief minister Punjab was heard by a five member bench, headed by Justice Abid Aziz Sheikh of the Lahore High Court.

During the hearing, Justice Abid inquired why the matter had not been resolved, at which Elahi’s lawyer Barrister Ali Zafar said that all the issues would be resolved in the court.

The court inquired about the latest position, at which the lawyer of governor Punjab Balighur Rehman said that the court had given the chief minister enough time. To which the counsel replied that “adequate time” was not given. However, the court had also cleared the way for Elahi to take a vote of confidence.

Last month, the Lahore High Court 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 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.

Following the decision, PML-N’s Rana Sanaullah had said that the court had only given an interim relief to the PML-Q leader, and that a final decision is to be made later.