LHC reinstates Punjab chief minister, his cabinet as Elahi says he wouldn’t dissolve Assembly:
LHC reinstates Punjab chief minister, his cabinet as Elahi says he wouldn’t dissolve Assembly
LAHORE/ISLAMABAD: The Lahore High Court today reinstated chief minister Punjab Pervez Elahi and his cabinet as Elahi he assured the court that he wouldn’t dissolve the Assembly.
Before reinstating Punjab government, the court got an undertaking from Pervez Elahi that he would not dissolve the assembly as it could deepen the political turmoil in the province.
On Late Thursday night, Punjab Governor Baligh-ur-Rehman de-notified the Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) leader as the chief minister for not taking a vote of confidence within the given deadline.
On Friday, Pervez Elahi challenged his dismissal in the Lahore High Court and a five-member bench, headed by Justice Abid Aziz Sheikh and comprising Justices Justices Chaudhry Muhammad Iqbal, Tariq Saleem Sheikh, Asim Hafeez and Muzamil Akhtar Shabir reinstated the chief minister and his entire cabinet.
The five-member bench of the LHC took two breaks of 10 minutes and an hour and directed counsel of chief minister Barrister Ali Zafar to consult his client about the undertaking of not dissolving the provincial assembly.
After getting assurance from the PML-Q leader, the court reinstated him as the chief minister. The LHC also issued notices to all the parties in the case and summoned them on January 11.
It means PTI chairman Imran Khan will not be able to influence Pervez Elahi to dissolve the Punjab Assembly as long as the case is pending in the court.
The court also did not make it compulsory for the chief minister to take a vote of confidence on the Punjab governor’s orders.
Meanwhile, PML-N has withdrawn its no-confidence move against chief minister of Punjab Chaudhary Pervez Elahi on Friday before the hearing of the case started in the court.
I am an experienced writer, analyst, and author. My exposure in English journalism spans more than 28 years. In the past, I have been working with daily The Muslim (Lahore Bureau), daily Business Recorder (Lahore/Islamabad Bureaus), Daily Times, Islamabad, daily The Nation (Lahore and Karachi). With daily The Nation, I have served as Resident Editor, Karachi. Since 2009, I have been working as a Freelance Writer/Editor for American organizations.
