Punjab Chief Minister Parvez Elahi on Thursday made it clear that he will not seek a vote of confidence to fulfill Governor Balighur Rehman’s order, describing it as “illegal.”
Addressing a press conference in Lahore, he said he did not accept the legitimacy of the letter the governor had written directing him to seek a vote of confidence. “If I take the vote of confidence, then it means that I am accepting the letter,” he said, in a seeming break from his allied Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), which has repeatedly asserted the vote of confidence would be conducted prior to Jan. 11. Just a day earlier, speaking with media, PTI leader Chaudhry Fawad Hussain had claimed the Punjab chief minister would proceed for a vote of confidence before Jan. 11, when the Lahore High Court (LHC) resumes hearings into a petition filed by Elahi challenging the governor’s move.
Elahi’s remarks are expected to trigger a new political crisis in Punjab, as he was only reinstated as the chief minister after the LHC suspended—but not set aside—the governor’s de-notification of his authority over his “failure” to secure a vote of confidence. The LHC order also barred Elahi from dissolving the assembly, but said he could secure a vote of confidence prior to the hearing.
The decision to not proceed for a vote of confidence also raises questions over the PTI’s claims of commanding a majority in the Punjab Assembly, with observers noting that Elahi would not avoid the process if he was guaranteed success. In the past week, an independent MPA has confirmed she would not vote for Elahi, while rumors persist over several PTI and PMLQ lawmakers also not wanting to proceed with him as chief minister if it means the dissolution of the provincial assembly.
PTI and Elahi
During his media interaction, the chief minister also criticized recent statements of senior PTI leaders, saying they were being “ungrateful” and needed to show responsibility as they were also in power in Punjab. To a question, he added: “Imran Khan is the most truly honest, and dedicated leader the nation has gotten since Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah.”
On queries about Fawad’s criticism of Gujrat district police officer Ghazanfar Shah for allegedly using his mobile phone to record the confession statement of Naveed, the primary accused in the attempted assassination of Imran Khan, Elahi said the probe was still ongoing. He appeared to deflect the issue by claiming it could not be completed without the statement of the former inspector general of police, who is currently on a refresher course in the United Nations.