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The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Friday both restored Parvez Elahi as Chief Minister of Punjab and his provincial cabinet after he pledged to not dissolve the Punjab Assembly before the next hearing, set for Jan. 11.
On Thursday, Punjab Governor Balighur Rehman de-notified the Pakistan Muslim League (Quaid) leader as the chief minister and dissolved his cabinet, citing his failure to obtain a vote of confidence that he had been directed to do so on Wednesday at 4 p.m. On Friday morning, Elahi challenged the ruling before the LHC, arguing that the governor could not de-notify him as he could not have obtained a vote of confidence while a session of the Punjab Assembly was already underway.
Hearing the case, a five-member bench comprising Justices Abid Aziz Sheikh, Chaudhry Muhammad Iqbal, Tariq Saleem Sheikh, Asim Hafeez and Muzamil Akhtar Shabir said it was willing to suspend the governor’s orders—but only if Elahi agreed to not dissolve the Punjab Assembly so the ongoing political turmoil would not worsen.
Elahi’s counsel, Ali Zafar, was provided two chances to secure the undertaking, with the court reinstating the PMLQ leader as chief minister only after it was provided by suspending the governor’s order till the next hearing. In its order, the court clarified that the chief minister was not required to take a vote of confidence prior to the next hearing, but could choose to do so “of his own accord.” The court then adjourned the case till Jan. 11 after issuing notices to all parties in the case.
No change to dissolution plans
Following his restoration as chief minister, Elahi said in a posting on Twitter that the Punjab Assembly would be dissolved in line with the decision of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan. “The decision to dissolve the assemblies is final; Imran Khan’s decision will be implemented,” he wrote, adding that the ruling coalition at the center was “running from elections.”