Top court orders Khan-backed candidate to be Punjab chief minister
PAKISTAN’S top court last Tuesday (26) handed control of the country’s most populous province, Punjab, to a candidate who was backed by ousted prime minister Imran Khan.
The move ramps up pressure on the federal government, made up of a coalition of parties that ousted Khan from premiership in April, as it attempts to implement tough, and unpopular, economic reforms to stave off
a financial crisis.
In a short ruling, Pakistan’s Supreme Court said a Khanbacked candidate for Punjab’s chief ministership, Chaudhry Parvez Elahi, had been wrongfully denied victory in a vote last month. It ordered he be installed as the province’s chief minister.
He had been denied victory by the speaker of the Punjab assembly, who had disregarded votes caste in Elahi’s favour as being against the party line, and handed victory to the candidate of the ruling coalition. The court overturned the speaker’s decision.
The development gives Khan’s campaign for fresh elections a shot in the arm. The ousted leader has been holding protest rallies across the country for snap general elections, which are not due until late next year.
The tug of war between Khan and his opponents has already weighed heavily on the economy of the nuclear powered nation of 220 million, which is in the middle of a tough International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme.
JP Morgan, in a note last Tuesday, warned that renewed calls for early elections maintained pressure on the ruling coalition and add to political uncertainty.
“The results have important implications for the government’s willingness to implement electorally challenging policies that are likely required to resume and maintain the IMF program,” said the JP Morgan note.
Pakistan is struggling with falling foreign exchange reserves, a widening current account deficit and a depreciating currency. Adding to the uncertainty, the decision may lead to a stand-off between ministers and judiciary.
“The decision has not been accepted by the people. We will decide our future line of action after consulting coalition partners,” Marriyum Aurangzeb, the federal minister for information, said last Tuesday night.