Pakistan Punjab in Crisis? Special Assembly Session Today After Guv Asks CM Elahi to Seek Trust Vote

As Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan announced dissolving provincial assemblies on December 23, Punjab seems to be heading to constitutional chaos with Governor of Punjab asking chief minister Pervaiz Elahi to seek vote of confidence in a special assembly session today after the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) submitted a no-confidence motion against him.

According to a notification issued late on Monday night, Punjab governor Baligur Rehman summoned the Assembly session on Wednesday at 4 pm (local time), directing CM Elahi to obtain a vote of confidence in terms of Article 130(7) of the Constitution.

Punjab Assembly Speaker Sibtain Khan said Governor’s order was unconstitutional because there is already a session in place.

Meanwhile, Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) president Asif Ali Zardari held four meetings with PML-Q president Chaudhry Shujaat Hussian. Some sources said three meetings were held at former federal minister Najam Sethi’s house.

Some media reports suggest that Elahi is trying to get a deal from PDM and may become their CM candidate if no confidence motion succeeds.

According to an inside source, Chaudhry brothers, Shafaat Hussain and Wajahat Hussain, have serious clashes within the family. Shafaat wants to fight elections from where his grandfather was elected, which is at present Wajahat Hussain’s constituency.

Asif Zardari, however, wants the next Punjab CM from PPP, for which he has proposed Hassan Murtaza, Makhdom Usman among others, according to the sources.

According to political analysts, no confidence motion suits Elahi as he did not want to dissolve the assembly. First, he criticised Imran Khan for targeting former Pakistani army chief Qamar Javed Bajwa and the trust deficit between PTI and PML-Q. Secondly, the no confidence motion was submitted late Tuesday night when the assembly secretariat was open, which has raised several questions.

Elahi has to make sure that he manages to secure 186 votes in the House on Wednesday to retain 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”.

Since Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and PPP co-chairman and former Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari are active in political manoeuvring in Punjab, it is uncertain whether all PTI or PML-Q lawmakers turn up on December 21 to vote for Elahi.

(with inputs from PTI)

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