LAHORE: The Pakistan Muslim League-Q (PML-Q) leader Pervez Elahi filed a petition on Friday challenging Governor Punjab Balighur Rehman’s decision to de-notify him as provincial chief minister.
The Lahore High Court (LHC) set up a five-member panel with Justice Abid Aziz Sheikh as its head to hear the petition. Rehman de-notified CM Elahi in the wee hours of Friday for refusing to accept a vote of confidence from the province parliament on his order on Wednesday, December 21.
As per a notice sent out by the Governor House after midnight, Chief Minister Elahi lost his position as soon as the provincial cabinet was dissolved. But it also stated that Elahi will continue in office in accordance with Article 133 of the Constitution up until the provincial parliament chose a new chief minister.
Elahi has asked for the aforementioned decision to be annulled and for the session of the Punjab Assembly that was called by the governor on Wednesday to be ruled illegal in the plea that was submitted today.
The appeal requested that the dissolution of the provincial cabinet in the contested order be ruled invalid and that the petitioner continue to keep his position as chief minister of Punjab.
Elahi filed the petition through attorneys Syed Ali Zafar and Amir Saeed Rawn, claiming that “two defamed orders passed by the respondent Governor of Punjab – one on December 19, 2022, wherein the governor had notified the House for December 21, requiring CM Elahi to obtain a vote of confidence, and the second one on December 22, 2022, wherein the CM was de-notified over his failure to obtain the vote of confidence, are unlawful and unconstitution.
