Pakistan Punjab Governor asks CM to seek trust vote
Lahore, December 20
The governor of Pakistan’s Punjab has asked Chief Minister Chaudhry Parvez Elahi to seek a vote of confidence from the provincial Assembly on Wednesday, hours after a no-trust move was submitted against him by the opposition to foil ex-premier Imran Khan’s plan of dissolving the House.
Pakistan’s ousted prime minister Khan on Saturday made the announcement that his governments in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa will dissolve their provincial assemblies on December 23.
In an address to the nation via a video link from his Lahore residence where the Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chief ministers were also present by his side, the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) chairman said only fresh elections can steer the country out of the economic crisis.
The announcement came immediately after a delegation of the opposition lawmakers submitted the no-trust motion against Elahi. Elahi has to make sure that he manages to secure 186 votes in the House on Wednesday to secure his position. If he fails to secure the vote of confidence, he would lose the power to dissolve the assembly.
The document submitted by the opposition lawmakers stated that “members of the PPP and the PML-N of the provincial assembly have lost confidence in CM Pervaiz Elahi’s ability to lead the house as per the constitution”.
“The chief minister has stated in a TV programme on December 4 that he is not going to dissolve the provincial assembly until March 2023, a position which is completely at odds with the PTI’s public opinion on the issue,” it said.
Since Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and PPP co-chairman and former Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari are active in political maneuvering in Punjab, it is uncertain whether all PTI or PML-Q lawmakers turn up to vote for Elahi. — PTI
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