MWM decides not to support CM Elahi on no-trust motion

Party expresses serious reservations about certain actions of Punjab CM

LAHORE:

The Majlis Wahdat-e-Muslimeen (MWM) on Monday announced that it would not give a vote of confidence to Punjab Chief Minister Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi.

In a statement released by the party, the MWM Political Council said that it has taken the decision after consultation with its leadership.

According to the party spokesperson, the MWM has expressed "serious concerns over some of Elahi's actions" and said that its member of the Punjab Assembly Syeda Zahra Naqvi will not give him a vote of confidence.

The spokesperson furthered that the decision was taken in light of the instructions given by the party's leadership.

Read Legal discourse: Are Elahi’s hands tied after court pledge?

In a bid to stop the dissolution of the Punjab Assembly on Dec 23, 2022, as announced by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan, Governor Balighur Rehman had asked Elahi to take a vote of confidence two days ahead of the deadline.

However, Speaker Sibtain Khan had intervened, saying it could not happen as the Punjab Assembly was in session and calling a new one would be unconstitutional.

Subsequently, the governor had de-notified Elahi on Dec 22. However, the Lahore High Court (LHC) had reinstated the Pakistan Muslim League-Q (PML-Q) leader on the assurance that he would not dissolve the assembly before Jan 11 – the next date of hearing.

A day after the LHC had reinstated Elahi, PTI leader Fawad Chaudhry had said that the party would ask Elahi to take a vote of confidence as soon as possible.

It is pertinent to note that earlier the MWM had announced unconditional support to the former ruling party for the local government election in Islamabad. It had hoped that residents of the federal capital would vote for the PTI to defeat the ruling coalition.