The Anti-Climax

Punjab CM will now have to get a vote of confidence before dissolving the provincial legislature

Lahore: It is an irony of fate that on the day when Punjab Chief Minister Parvez Elahi was to dissolve the provincial assembly as part of his senior coalition partner Imran Khan’s plan, he had to submit a written assurance in a court that he will not dissolve the assembly until he gets a vote of confidence.

Last week Imran Khan had unveiled the date—December 23—for executing his party’s plan to dissolve the Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) assemblies in a bid to force the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) led coalition government into holding early general election.

Former premier Imran Khan who was ousted from power through a vote of no confidence in April this year, had made the announcement during a public address in which Parvez Elahi was also present. However, the PML-N, which leads the ruling coalition in the Centre, swiftly swung into action and Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah camped at the Punjab Governor House along with a team of legal wizards to devise a strategy to foretell Imran’s plan.

Following these meetings, Governor Balighur Rehman, who belongs to the PML-N, forwarded a letter to the Chief Minister Secretariat, directing CM Elahi to seek a vote of confidence from the Punjab Assembly. He subsequently summoned a session on December 21 at 4pm under Section 130 (7) of the Constitution.

Meanwhile, the PML-N and the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) submitted a no-trust motion to the assembly’s secretariat against the CM, the speaker and the deputy speaker.

Talking to reporters outside the Governor House, Sanaullah claimed that CM Elahi now could not advise the governor to dissolve the Punjab Assembly until he got a vote of confidence on the governor’s order.

“I think the governor’s order to de-notify Mr Elahi is just a formality now,” he had remarked.

However, in response to the order, Punjab Assembly speaker Sabtain Khan ruled that summoning of the session was unconstitutional as he adjourned the ongoing session till December 23.

In this situation, Governor Rehman de-notified Parvez Elahi as the chief minister on December 23, in the wee hours of Friday for not complying with his order to obtain a vote of confidence. He also dissolved the CM’s cabinet.

He, however, asked Elahi to continue working till his successor is appointed. This move plunged the biggest province of the country into a constitutional crisis.

Elahi and his ally, the PTI, declared the move as illegal. Commenting on the development, PTI leader Fawad Chaudhry said “a selected governor has de-notified an elected chief minister”.

Taking to micro-blogging site Twitter, he said: [There was] no legal status of the governor’s order de-notifying CM Parvez Elahi. Mr Elahi and his cabinet will continue to perform their duties. A reference against the governor will be sent to the president for his ouster.”

Elahi, who belongs to the Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q), filed the petition in the Lahore High Court (LHC) against the governor’s “unconstitutional and unlawful” order. “It may kindly be declared that the summoning of the session of the Punjab Assembly by the governor during an already ongoing session is unconstitutional, unlawful, and of no legal effect,” read the petition filed by the CM.

The LHC immediately constituted a five-judge bench headed by Justice Abid Aziz Sheikh and the bench restored Elahi in the afternoon of December 23 but bound him not to dissolve the provincial assembly until he gets a vote of confidence from the house within seven days.

The CM had to submit a written assurance to the court saying: “If I and my cabinet are reinstated, then I will not send the assembly dissolution summary to the governor till the next hearing.” The undertaking was read aloud in the courtroom by Barrister Ali Zafar, who was representing Elahi.

The court also directed the respondents to submit a reply at the next hearing scheduled for January 11.

Speaking to the media outside the courtroom, Elahi’s son, Moonis Elahi, said the PML-Q respects the judiciary. “We will seek a vote of confidence and will dissolve the assembly on the same day” he said.

Talking to media, Fawad Chaudhry said the PTI did not agree with the court’s reasoning but ultimately decided to submit an undertaking.

“We have given an undertaking to the court that we will not dissolve the assembly till the next date.” He said ultimately, the assemblies were to be dissolved. “You can take a week or two but the assemblies will ultimately be dissolved and elections will happen,” he said.