The Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) alliance and the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) on Monday fired two salvos at the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)’s plan to dissolve the Punjab Assembly this Friday, with Punjab Governor Balighur Rehman asking Punjab Chief Minister Parvez Elahi to obtain a vote of confidence and opposition lawmakers submitting a separate no-trust resolution against him in a bid to delay the planned dissolution.
The twin developments, occurring after normal business hours around 9:30 p.m., followed a meeting between Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and leaders of the parties comprising the ruling coalition at the center. They are aimed at either delaying—or outright dismissing—PTI chief Imran Khan’s threatened dissolution of the Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa assemblies.
Under law, a chief minister facing a no-confidence motion cannot dissolve the assembly until it has been voted on. Similarly, the governor’s call for the chief minister to seek a vote of confidence from the House requires him to ensure he has 186 votes prior to proceeding to dissolution. Currently, the PTI and PMLQ have a combined count of 190—sufficient to prove their majority—against 180 of the opposition. Key to the government are the 10 seats of the PMLQ, which could swing the government in favor of either the PDM or the PTI.
Vote of confidence
In a notification issued late on Monday night, the governor cited media reports on differences between Elahi and PMLQ President Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain as sufficient reason to believe the chief minister had lost his majority in the Punjab Assembly. “It is widely known that over the last few weeks, serious differences of opinion have erupted between the two coalition parties—PTI and PMLQ—regarding political strategies, dissolution of assembly, development schemes and transfers of public officials,” it continued, adding that “cracks” in the alliance were also visible due to the recent resignation of a PTI minister from Elahi’s cabinet.
The governor also cited Elahi’s media appearances, including a Dec. 4 statement that he was not going to dissolve the Punjab Assembly until March 2023—“a position which is completely at odds with the PTI’s public position on the issue and it led to resignation of two PTI MPAs in protest”—and a Dec. 18 interview in which he “openly and vehemently” criticized Imran Khan’s views on former Army chief Gen. (retd.) Qamar Javed Bajwa.
In light of the above, read the notification, the governor had summoned session of the Punjab Assembly on Wednesday (Dec. 21) at 4 p.m., and required the chief minister to obtain a vote of confidence under Article 130(7) of the Constitution.
No-trust motion
Simultaneously, PPP and PMLN lawmakers have submitted a no-trust motion against Elahi, as well as the speaker and deputy speaker of the Punjab Assembly. The development has sparked speculation that Elahi might be availing the opposition’s “help” in delaying the dissolution of the Punjab Assembly without offending ally Khan.
While neither party is willing to explain how it expects to make up the numbers required to oust Elahi, PPP lawmakers have pointed to former president Asif Ali Zardari and his negotiating skills as a reason for their subdued enthusiasm for the no-trust motion.
According to local media, the PDM is now awaiting an update from the PMLQ faction led by Shujaat over whether he has managed to convince Elahi to decamp to its side from his current alliance with the PTI. If the talks succeed, Elahi could potentially remain the chief minister—only of the PDM alliance, rather than the PTI.