As widely predicted, Punjab CM Ch Parvez Elahi challenged his denotification by the Governor in the Lahore High Court, which has held the notiffication in abeyance and has also taken an undertaking from him not to dissolve the Punjab Assembly. His opponents claim that his failure to take the vote of confidence he was asked to by the Governor, means that he no longer holds office. His supporters argue that the Governor could not, as he did, summon a fresh session for the vote of confidence, while the present session of the Assembly continued. Once again, the courts have been asked to intervene in a matter that should not have left to the precincts of the House. The issue is actually quite simple: does Ch Parvez have the right to be CM? That depends on whether he commands a majority in the Punjab Assembly. That can only be determined by that Assembly. True, Ch Pervez has every right to stick to the office, and Speaker Sibtain Khan has every right to ensure that the House’s rules are followed, but avoiding a vote of confidence only leaves the Lahore High Court, and later the Supreme Court, to intervene.
Though the establishment claims to have become neutral, the pattern is the same: a purely political issue is taken to the courts to settle. The establishment remains in charge. Whereas one part got the decisions it wanted, validating its actions, has declared neutrality, now what had been a second fiddle, now assumes centrestage. In a strange way, the establishment, now covered in the odour of sanctity given by neutrality, is still able to get the results it wanted.
The big winner so far has got to be Ch Pervez, who also accounts himself close to the establishment. He remains Chief Minister. The PML(N), an erstwhile establishment opponent, has failed to topple Ch Parvez. The PTI, which has moved so swiftly from being the establishment’s favourite to a vocal opponent, is also a loser, at least for now, as its pledge to dissolve the two provincial assemblies it controls on Friday has come a cropper, with any future pledge depending on how the LHC decides. If the establishment had not been neutral, it would probably have been satisfied with how events were moving. But it’s neutral, isn’t it?
