Staff Report
LAHORE: The constitutional crisis has deepened in Punjab as Governor Baligh-ur-Rehman de-notified Chief Minister Pervaiz Elahi on Thursday. PTI rejected the notification and said that there is no legal status of the Governor’s notification.
The Governor issued a notification in this regard and also shared its copy via his social media account. The notification said that the Governor is satisfied that “Chief Minister Punjab Pervaiz Elahi does not command the confidence of the majority in Punjab Assembly and therefore, ceases his office with immediate effect”. The notification said that “the provincial cabinet stands to dissolve” immediately.
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The notification added that Chief Minister Pervez Elahi will work as Chief Minister of the province till the election of the new leader of the House.
The notification further said that Governor Punjab had asked the CM to take a vote of confidence but he did not take it within time.
PTI’s reaction
Earlier, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) said that Punjab Governor is likely to denotify the Chief Minister of Punjab if he does not take a vote of confidence from the House on Wednesday.
Reacting to the development, PTI leader Fawad Chaudhary said that there is no legal status of Governor’s notification and said that Chief Minister Pervez Elahi and the provincial cabinet will perform their work. He said that a reference will be sent to the President to remove the Governor from his office.
It may be recalled that earlier, PML-N, and PPP had also submitted a no-confidence motion against the Chief Minister Punjab following former prime minister Imran Khan’s announcement to dissolve the provincial assemblies of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
