Pakistan’s Punjab province is hurtling into yet another political and constitutional crisis with Governor Baligur Rehman de-notifying Chaudhry Parvez Elahi as chief minister with “immediate effect” for not complying with his order to obtain a vote of confidence.
Governor Rehman had on Monday ordered Elahi to take a vote of confidence from Punjab Assembly by 4pm on Wednesday. Punjab Assembly Speaker Sibtain Khan disposed of the Governor’s order, saying that the instructions were “against the Constitution and Rules of Procedure”, while also adjourning the Assembly session till Friday.
The Governor, who belongs to PML-N, took the extreme action to stop Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) Imran Khan from dissolving the Punjab Assembly.
The order of Elahi’s de-notification was made public a little after midnight, even though the document stated that it was prepared at 4pm on Thursday.
The notification stated that since Elahi had “refrained from obtaining vote of confidence” by 4pm on Wednesday, and “did not do so even after the lapse of another 24 hours”, the Governor was “satisfied that he does not command the confidence of the majority of the members of the Punjab Assembly, and therefore ceases to hold his office with immediate effect”.
Former prime minister Khan had announced to dissolve the Punjab and Kyber Pakhtaunkhawa provincial assemblies where his party is in power to push the federal coalition led by the Pakistan Muslim League (N) (PMLN) to call for snap polls.
Elahi, who belongs to the PTI junior coalition partner Pakistan Muslim League Quaid (PMLQ), said he will move the court against the governor’s ‘illegal order’.
PTI senior leader and former information minister Fawad Chaudhry said the governor will have to pay for his “misconduct”. “The governor’s order denotifying the chief minister and his Cabinet has no legal value. Chief Minister Parvez Elahi and his cabinet will continue to function and a reference against him is being sent to the president for his removal from office,” Chaudhry tweeted.
The PML-N and its allied parties had vowed to use all options to stop Khan from dissolving the two assemblies. They say the country can’t afford early polls because of its poor economy.
Legal experts say the ongoing constitutional battle between the federal and Punjab governments will eventually be settled by courts as questions of law have arisen after Governor Balighur Rehman asked Chief Minister Elahi to seek a “vote of confidence” in a special assembly session within 48 hours and subsequently denotified him for his failure to comply with his order.
Punjab has not seen political stability since the ouster of prime minister Imran Khan through a “vote of no confidence” in April and several petitions are still pending before the courts relating to the chief minister’s election.
Khan was ousted from power in April after losing a no-confidence vote in his leadership, which he alleged was part of a US-led conspiracy targeting him because of his independent foreign policy decisions on Russia, China, and Afghanistan.
The former cricketer-turned-politician, who came to power in 2018, is the only Pakistani Prime Minister to be ousted in a no-confidence vote in Parliament.
He alleged that the no-confidence vote was part of a US-led conspiracy targeting him because of his independent foreign policy decisions on Russia, China, and Afghanistan. The US has denied the allegations.
With PTI inputs
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