Vote of no-confidence against Elahi will not be held today, says Fawad

Government can impose governor rule in Punjab if the PTI takes any unconstitutional measure, says Sana

ISLAMABAD:

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Fawad Chaudhry on Wednesday warned Punjab's governor to "refrain" from taking any steps as he stated that the incumbent chief minister, Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi, will not be seeking a vote of no confidence today.

Speaking to the media in the federal capital, the former information minister clarified that the vote on no confidence will not be held today as the speaker of the assembly had also issued a ruling in this regard.

On the other hand, Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah said that the government can impose governor rule in Punjab if the PTI takes any unconstitutional measure.

He added that if imposed, the term of governor rule was six months.

The comment by the interior minister comes after a delegation of PPP and PML-N lawmakers submitted a no-confidence motion against Chief Minister Pervaiz Elahi in a bid to forestall the dissolution of the provincial assembly.

Later the government announced that Punjab Governor Balighur Rehman will denotify CM Elahi if he does not take a vote of confidence from the provincial assembly.

Speaking on the issue, Sanaullah said that no matter what PTI does, it cannot resist the Constitution, adding that it is written in the Constitution that if the chief minister does not take the vote of confidence, he shall not remain the chief minister.

Also read: No-trust moved in Punjab Assembly

Sanaullah added that it is the governor's will to ask for a vote of confidence.

“They have been crying for dissolution of the assemblies for a month. In this situation, the governor has the right to use his authority,” said the interior minister.

تحریک انصاف کچھ بھی کر لے آئین سے مزاحمت نہیں کر سکتی، آئین میں لکھا ہے کہ وزیر اعلیٰ اعتماد کا ووٹ نہ لیں تو وہ وزیر اعلیٰ نہیں رہیں گے، گورنر کی مرضی ہے جب بھی اعتماد کے ووٹ لینے کا کہہ دیں، ہمیں معلوم ہے کہ انکے پاس نمبر پورے نہیں ہیں اگر ہیں تو ووٹ آف کانفیڈینس لے لیں۔

— Rana SanaUllah Khan (@RanaSanaullahPK) December 21, 2022

The minister furthered that the government knows that the PTI doesn’t have the full number of voters and added that if they do then they must take the vote of confidence.

“They have no option but to take a vote of confidence. If it is confirmed that they are not taking the vote of confidence, governor Punjab will issue a new notification,” added the interior minister.

Sanaullah also said that it was decided by consensus that former chief minister Punjab Hamza Shehbaz will be the candidate for the post of chief minister.

Also read: PTI, Q league to jointly face motion against Elahi: Fawad

The minister also said that he is not aware of any talks with Elahi.

“Elections would have happened only if the assemblies were dissolved, now they are running away from dissolving the assembly of K-P,” said Sanaullah

The interior minister criticized PTI Chairman Imran Khan and said that he is working on anti-national agenda and that the former prime minister’s main agenda is to bankrupt the country.

“Apart from Imran Khan, the establishment, judiciary, politicians and the nation want stability in the country,” said Sanaullah.

A day earlier, PTI leader Fawad Chaudhry said that the vote of confidence and no-trust motion against Elahi would be faced together by the alliance of his party and PML-Q.

As per the law, the chief minister cannot dissolve the assembly once a no-confidence motion has been moved against him. The governor’s recent requirement for the chief minister to seek a vote of confidence from the house means he has to ensure that he manages to secure 186 votes in the assembly.

The PTI, at the moment, has 177 while the PML-Q has 10 members in the Punjab Assembly. On the other hand, the opposition has a combined 176 members from the PML-N, PPP and Rah-i-Haq parties.