LAHORE: A constitutional petition seeking the removal of Baligh ur-Rehman, a Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) stalwart, as governor of Punjab was filed in the Lahore High Court (LHC) on Tuesday.
The petitioner — one Shabbir Ismail from the provincial metropolis, lodged the plea through his counsel Azhar Siddique — argued the governor breached his mandate by asking the chief minister, Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi, to seek a vote of confidence from the provincial assembly without any concrete reason.
The governor does not have the authority to issue such an order until the legislature was in session, the petitioner noted.
He said a letter was also sent to President Arif Alvi and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif but they took no action against the governor, and pleaded with the court to direct the two to do it.
On Friday, the high court reinstated Elahi hours after he was removed as chief minister to halt the plan of former prime minister Imran Khan to force snap polls in the nation.
But Elahi was allowed to continue in his office on condition that he would not dissolve his government until the next hearing of the case on January 11, according to his counsel Ali Zafar.
The governor had issued an order Friday to remove Elahi. He said he acted on Elahi’s failure to seek a vote of confidence, which was mandatory after the governor officially asked him to do that.
“I am satisfied that he doesn’t command the confidence of the majority of the members of the Punjab Assembly, and therefore ceases to hold his office with immediate effect,” Rehman’s order said.
The crisis has deepened political instability in Pakistan which is in an economic meltdown with a severe balance of payment crisis.
— With Reuters
