Punjab CM calls for dissolution of House
ELAHI’S ADVICE TO GOVERNOR FOLLOWS TRUST VOTE WIN
Parvez Elahi, the chief minister of the Punjab province, recommended yesterday the dissolution of the provincial assembly.
Former prime minister Imran Khan’s ally, Elahi, won a confidence vote as the province’s chief minister, the latest electoral win for the opposition leader demanding early general elections.
In a one-line advice addressed to the Punjab governor, Elahi said: “I, Parvez Elahi, Chief Minister of Punjab, hereby advise you to dissolve the provincial assembly.” The advice was printed on a plain piece of paper that bore Elahi’s signature and today’s date, as reported by Dawn.com.
Speaking to the media after the meeting, Pakistan Tehreeke-Insaf (PTI) leader Fawad Chaudhry announced that Elahi had signed the summary and the advice had been forwarded to the Punjab governor. “If the governor does not accept the advice, the assembly is automatically dissolved after 48 hours,” he said.
KP dissolution next
He made the remarks after a meeting between PTI Chairman Imran Khan and Elahi at the former’s Zaman Park residence. Fawad also said that the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly would be dissolved “day after tomorrow,” according to Dawn.com.
Elahi had secured 186 votes from lawmakers in the 371-member house. Speaker Mohammad Sibtain Khan announced the result in a session that lasted more than an hour after midnight. The voting happened despite the chief minister holding the office temporarily amid a court case that contests his position. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s members boycotted the session and plan to legally contest the voting.
Khan, who was ousted as PMr in April, announced his plans to dissolve two of the nation’s four provincial assemblies last month that he holds a majority to force early elections.
Khan has said that he will ask Chief Minister Elahi to dissolve the assembly as soon as he wins the confidence vote.
If the governor does not accept the advice, the assembly is automatically dissolved after 48 hours.”
Multiple challenges
The political uncertainty comes as Pakistan’s economy is facing multiple challenges including a dollar shortage that has led to companies shutting down and a drop in foreign exchange reserves to less than one month’s worth of imports amid a delay in its loan program with the IMF.
The chief minister of Punjab had earlier refused to seek a confidence vote and was sacked from the office by the province’s Governor Mohammad Baligh ur Rehman for the refusal.
The chief minister challenged the decision in court, and was asked to continue in the role until a verdict is reached. The Lahore High Court has resumed hearing of the case yesterday.
Fawad Chaudhry | PTI leader