Pakistan Muslim League (Quaid) leader Parvez Elahi on Friday filed a petition in the Lahore High Court (LHC) challenging an order issued by Governor Balighur Rehman to de-notify him as chief minister after he refrained from obtaining a vote of confidence in the Punjab Assembly.
In his petition, Elahi has urged the court to declare the governor’s order “illegal,” maintaining that Punjab Assembly Speaker Sibtain Khan had been asked to summon a session for the vote of confidence, which was not possible as a session was already underway.
“No action can be taken against any chief minister over speaker’s actions,” reads the petition, claiming that under Rule 22(7) of the Rules of Procedure of the Punjab Assembly, a chief minister can only be deemed to not command the confidence of a majority of lawmakers if he refrains from obtaining the vote of confidence. “In the instant case, there is no eventuality which gives the impression that the petitioner [Elahi] has refrained from obtaining the vote of confidence,” it adds.
It also seeks to argue that the fundamental rights of MPAs who voted for Elahi have been violated through the governor’s order. The petition has urged the court to set aside the governor’s order, permit Elahi to continue in his capacity as chief minister, and restore the provincial cabinet.
Prior to submitting his petition, Elahi told media that he rejected the governor’s order. “I am the Chief Minister of Punjab and the cabinet will continue to function,” he added.
Reacting to the petition, Special Assistant to the P.M. Attaullah Tarar advised Elahi to just obtain a vote of confidence rather than seeking relief from the court. “He [Elahi] has no other option but to take a vote of confidence. Even the court cannot finish the vote of confidence. This has to be done legally as well,” he said in a posting on Twitter.
Later on Friday, a judge of the LHC recused himself from the five-member bench formed to hear Elahi’s petition, saying he had represented the petitioner in many cases and could not serve as judge in this case. The matter was subsequently referred to the chief justice for the formation of a new bench.
Vote of no-confidence withdrawn
Meanwhile, lawmakers of the Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) withdrew their no-confidence motion against Elahi, terming it “unnecessary” after his de-notification by the governor.
Speaking with media, PMLN leader Khalil Tahir Sandhu clarified that only the motion against Elahi had been withdrawn, adding that the ones against the speaker and deputy speaker were still pending. To a question, he said his party would accept the court’s ruling on Elahi’s petition regardless of what it prescribed.
Earlier this week, Governor Balighur Rehman directed Elahi to seek a vote of confidence while PMLN and PPP lawmakers simultaneously submitted a no-trust motion against him. The move has widely been seen as an attempt to delay or nullify Pakistan Tehkreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan’s threat to dissolve the Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa assemblies on Dec. 23 (today).
While the no-trust process had yet to formally commence, Speaker Sibtain Khan declared the governor’s directive “illegal,” maintaining that a new session could not be summoned so long as a session of the assembly was ongoing. In response, the governor has maintained that there was no need for a new session, and the vote could have been conducted in a sitting of the current session.
After waiting a little over 24 hours beyond the time designated by the governor for the vote of confidence—Wednesday at 4 p.m.—Rehman de-notified Elahi as chief minister, maintaining that by refraining to obtain a vote, he had shown he lacked the confidence of the majority of lawmakers in the Punjab Assembly. He also dissolved the provincial cabinet but requested Elahi to continue in his role as C.M. until his successor could be elected.