On Thursday, Punjab Chief Minister Chaudhry Parvez Elahi was declared by Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah to no longer hold the legally mandated position of provincial head of government.
Since Elahi’s de-notification as chief minister by the Centre’s ruling coalition, the crisis in Punjab is getting worse.
Yesterday around 4 p.m., Punjab Governor Baligh-ur-Rehman called a meeting for a vote of confidence on Elahi as the chief minister.
After that, Punjab Assembly Speaker Sibtain Khan revoked the governor’s order, claiming that it was “contrary to the Constitution and Rules of Procedure.”
On December 21, Governor Rehman responded to the speaker’s decision by calling it “unconstitutional,” and the coalition government made a suggestion that Punjab might be put under governor’s authority.
Imran Khan, the leader of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), said on Saturday that his governments in the two provinces would dissolve their legislatures on Friday to prepare for new elections.
The Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) coalition submitted a no-confidence motion against Elahi in attempt to restrict his authority.
The chief minister was advised by the Punjab governor to request a vote of confidence from the PA on Wednesday shortly after that.
Sanaullah said the PML-N has not yet made a choice regarding who will be the future chief minister of Punjab in response to a query.
He said that the governor’s decree denotifying Elahi as chief minister was now merely a formality. “I anticipate it being published today,”
A notification will be sent out as soon as the governor makes an order, the PML-N leader stated, and it would be put into effect right away.
“The second choice, he continued, is for parliament to pass a resolution that would then result in the imposition of governor’s rule for a period of two months. Another resolution may be enacted and the governor’s rule may be prolonged for an additional two months.”
According to Sanaullah, electing a new chief minister will be the first item on the agenda for the following legislative session.
He continued by saying that Nawaz Sharif’s arrival was also being prepared for. When questioned about Nawaz’s arrival time, Sanaullah replied that he may return whenever he desired. “He will announce the return date because he is our leader.”
