In an effort to stop the Punjab Assembly dissolution plans being carried out by deposed PM Imran Khan, Punjab Governor Balighur Rehman acted quickly late on Thursday night and denotified Chaudhry Parvez Elahi of his position as the chief minister of Pakistan’s largest province.
Parvez Elahi instantly referred to the development as “illegal,” and he said that on Friday (today), he would file a lawsuit opposing the governor’s decision.
Fawad Chaudhry, a senior member of the PTI, also referred to the governor’s order as unlawful and claimed that “a selected governor has denotified an elected chief minister”.
Following the governor’s directive, Punjab Chief Secretary Abdullah Sumbal, who was nominated by the federal government on Wednesday, issued a notification.
After receiving alerts from the governor and the chief secretary, Mr. Elahi convened an urgent meeting at his home with the Punjab attorney general, Speaker Sibtain Khan, Moonis Elahi, Law Minister Basharat Raja, and a few other top politicians to finalize Friday’s plan.
The chief minister no longer held the office, according to the governor’s Dec 22 order, because he declined to cast a vote of confidence on the scheduled day and time.
But until his successor took over, Governor Punjab urged Mr. Elahi to continue serving as chief minister.
Fawad Chaudhry tweeted that there was “no legal status of the governor’s order de-notifying CM Parvez Elahi. Mr Elahi and his cabinet will continue to perform their duties. A reference against the governor will be sent to the president for his ouster”.
According to sources, the governor received permission to denotify Mr. Elahi after senior PPP figures Asif Ali Zardari and Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain failed to win over PTI and PML-Q MPs in Punjab.
To read our blog on “Lahore’s mass underground transit system has been approved by the Punjab cabinet,” click here.
