By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s ruling coalition moved a no-confidence motion on Monday, seeking the ouster of Pervez Elahi, chief minister of Punjab province, days after the former Prime Minister Imran Khan announced to dissolve provincial assemblies in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
The expected move comes after the ruling alliance in the province, led by the Pakistan Tahreek-e-Insaf (PTI), said it would dissolve two provincial assemblies on December 23 to force Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif for early elections. The motion will likely delay the possible dissolution of the provincial assembly by PTI.
As many as 107 lawmakers, including those from the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz and Pakistan People’s Party, signed the motion before submitting it to the office of the provincial assembly. As per rule, the signatures of 74 lawmakers are needed to trigger a no-confidence vote against the chief minister.
The ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party holds a majority in the 371-seat assembly and has 183 members. Ehali’s Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid has 10 members.
“Members of the PPP (Pakistan Peoples’ Party) 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 no-trust document read.
It said Elahi had lost the confidence of the majority of members of the house.
Khan’s PTI has governments in Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa as well as in Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan. It has lawmakers in the Sindh and Balochistan assemblies also. The party lawmakers had already resigned from the National Assembly but the resignations of most of the lawmakers were not accepted.
Ousted from the office of prime minister via a parliamentary vote in April, Khan has, since, refused to recognize the government of Sharif and accuses it of conspiring with the military establishment and the US for his removal.
The former cricketer-turned-politician, who came to power in 2018, is the only Prime Minister to be ousted in a no-confidence vote in the parliament.
The country is facing a political crisis with Khan demanding that the government announces early votes and PM Sharif rejecting his plea for snap polls.
Separately Punjab governor Baligh ur Rehman also directed Elahi to seek a vote of confidence from the assembly on December 21.
As shared by the PML-N on Twitter, the governor said “The chief minister has lost the confidence of his party president Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain and members of his own party belonging to the PML-Q.”
“It is widely known that over the last few weeks serious differences of opinion erupted between two coalition parties of the ruling alliance in the Punjab Assembly i.e. PTI and PML-Q regarding political strategies, dissolution of the assembly, development schemes, and transfers of public officials.”
Rehman said the most recent evidence of cracks between the ruling alliance was the resignation of a cabinet member after he engaged in a verbal spat with CM Elahi.
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