Against All Odds

Sending of summary for the Punjab Assembly dissolution is a major milestone by the PTI chief

Lahore: A dramatic 20-day period in Punjab politics finally came to an end when Chief Minister Punjab Pervaiz Elahi, buoyed by a successful vote of confidence in his favour, wrote to Governor Baligh-ur-Rehman on Friday to announce the dissolution of Punjab Assembly.

The series of pulsating events that transpired during this period culminated with a clear turn of tide in favour of the coalition ruling partners in the province — the PTI and the PML-Q.

By all counts, this is the first major milestone achieved by the PTI chief and former premier Imran Khan towards getting his demand of holding early elections fulfilled.

Earlier, Imran Khan during his public address on December 17, had announced that his party would dissolve the two provincial assemblies of Punjab and the KP on December 23 in an attempt to build pressure on the federal government to hold snap polls.

However, the chain of events that followed his announcement made things so complicated that it took 23 additional days for Khan to finally dissolve the assembly.

Surely, the tables have turned and all the efforts from the opposition to keep the Punjab Chief Minister Pervaiz Elahi from dissolving the assembly have effectively been foiled. Elahi, after getting a vote of confidence from the House, in a letter asked the Governor for the dissolution of the provincial assembly and the initiation of the process for the formation of an interim government.

But the current scenario is a far cry from just a few days back when the dissolution of Punjab Assembly appeared impossible for the PTI and the PML-Q leadership.

The PDM, the provincial opposition alliance led by the PML-N, employed all tactics — legal and illegal — to stop CM Elahi from sending the dissolution advice to the Governor.

From the Federal Capital Islamabad to provincial capital Lahore, the PDM ran a vilification campaign against both Imran Khan and Elahi, claiming that both leaders have lost the confidence of the majority of the assembly members in Punjab. The federal government also claimed that several disgruntled MNAs and MPAs from the PTI as well as the PML-Q are in contact with the PDM leadership.

Subsequently, the Opposition submitted a no confidence motion against Elahi in a bid to deter him from dissolving the assembly on the announced date.

Punjab Governor Baligh-Ur-Rehman went to the extent of denotifying the status of the Punjab CM to avoid the dissolution of the provincial assembly.

Sources also said that several PML-Q legislators were also not in favour of having the assembly dissolved, citing multiple reasons for their reluctance to go with the idea. Many of the PTI stalwarts, too, warned Imran Khan of the negative impact that such a step could have on the party’s standing.

Besides, there were allegations that the Establishment’s hidden hands were working behind the scene in support of the provincial opposition. The federal government’s media wizards created an impression that the Chief Minister was falling short by 15 to 20 votes, and was therefore shying away from taking the vote of confidence.

Around four members were also stated to be abroad including Basma Riaz (in the United States), Waseem Badozai (in the United Kingdom), Shamsa and Ammar Yasir (in Dubai) and it was said that it could further dent Elahi’s hopes of getting the vote in his favour.

As if this was not enough, reports filtering early this week confirmed that four members including seasoned politician Dost Muhammad Mazari, Masoodur Rehman, Khurram Leghari and Momina Waheed had openly announced they would not be voting for CM Elahi.

Meanwhile, Zuhra Naqvi who was elected on a PTI ticket on the recommendation of Majlis Wahdat-ul-Muslimeen, also announced that she would not be voting for Elahi.  Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, too, before his departure to Geneva for the donors’ conference, spent a busy day in his Model Town residence in Lahore, consulting close aides and legal hawks and seeking reports from the officers of sensitive agencies pertaining to the Punjab Assembly.

Insiders say that the PM was briefed by the IGP, DG IB and other agencies about the CM being short of 10 to 15 members and he would not be able to get the confidence of the House.

Sources claimed that the PML-N was over-confident that the PDM could fudge the figures on the day of voting to shock both Elahi and Khan.

To bolster the Opposition’s efforts, PM Shehbaz deputed the entire brigade of his federal ministers including Rana Sana, Khwaja Asif, Saad Rafique, Atta Tarar, Azam Nazir Tarar and Malik Muhammad Ahmad Khan to condemn the Punjab government in every way and to strictly monitor the whole process and evolve a strategy to stop the Speaker from carrying out the vote process.

The PML-N led alliance was so sure of defeating Chief Minister Parvaiz Elahi that it had already started preparations for forming the next government.

The negative propaganda in the media almost made the political circles believe that CM Elahi’s government will not last beyond this week.

Furthermore, an impression was created that the majority of the PTI members were annoyed with the policies of Elahi and wouldn’t for him.

In the midst of all this, Elahi challenged the de-notification order of the Governor in the Lahore High Court which gave him conditional relief. He, however, was made to submit an affidavit that he will not dissolve the assembly till the time he does not get the vote of confidence.

In the face of the vociferous efforts and rigorous campaign to stop or  dissuade Elahi from dissolving the assembly – either from the Opposition or from within and outside the party fold – the PTI chief Imran Khan stood firm. He held marathon meetings with the annoyed party members and made them understand his point-of-view.

His meeting with the leadership of Majlis Wahdat-ul-Muslimeen proved fruitful and Zuhra Naqvi had to withdraw from her earlier statement and announced that she would eventually support the Punjab CM.

The sterling show from the former premier and his determination went a long way to reconcile the majority of annoyed party members and to get them united under one umbrella.

Imran Khan even managed to win the loyalty of independent candidate Bilal Warriach, who was earlier in the opposition camp.

Finally on January 11, extraordinary scenes were witnessed at the Punjab Assembly and Chief Minister Parvez Elahi managed to secure the confidence of 186 members after a nerve-fraying session that began on Wednesday evening and ended in the early hours of Thursday.

The unprecedented session, marred by a noisy opposition protest, saw lawmakers breaking furniture in frustration and shouting slogans to antagonise their opponents.

Notwithstanding the verbal assurances by Speaker Sibtain Khan to the contrary, the opposition voiced suspicions that CM Elahi would try to take a trust vote by ‘manipulating’ the number of supporting MPAs. But nothing of the sort happened as the PTI chairman also addressed the ruling coalition’s parliamentary party in the evening through video link and again at 10pm for half an hour at the dinner break.

The presence of a huge number of MNAs and MPAs at the parliamentary party session, indeed, came as utter surprise and a shock for the PML-N camp as the attendance of Punjab’s ruling alliance rose to 186 members. The amazing presence of the four members, who were supposed to be abroad, literally stumped everyone and was the key to Elahi’s victory in the House.

The PML-N had no option left but to walk out in a huff, chanting slogans and hurling allegations that the vote was “bulldozed” and “unconstitutional”.

Speaker Sibtain Khan, who presided over the eventful session, proudly ruled that Elahi had received 186 votes — exactly the number required to retain his position though one less than 187 that the PTI leaders had claimed to have on their side prior to voting.

The events have quickly unfolded since then and have clearly boosted the rank and file of the PTI and the PML-Q, paving the way for fresh elections.

The Governor House received the Punjab Assembly dissolution advice in a sealed envelope shortly after 10pm on Thursday as was confirmed by the governor himself in a tweet.

The move capped weeks of speculation, legal wrangling and a public debate on the alleged differences between the ruling allies in Punjab.

PTI stalwart Fawad Chaudhry tweeted that the summary had been sent to the governor requiring him to dissolve the assembly in 48 hours. “If the governor does not accept the advice within that time, the assembly will automatically stand dissolved.”

He stated that the PTI would also write a letter to Opposition Leader in the Punjab Assembly Hamza Shehbaz to return to Pakistan and discuss the appointment of an interim set-up, as required by the Constitution.

CM Elahi’s son, Moonis, shared a one-line dissolution summary, and the note of its receipt at the governor’s office on his Twitter handle, said, “Promise fulfilled. May we see you back in the PM seat soon Imran Khan.”