LAHORE: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Senior Vice President Fawad Chaudhry has said that the notification to denotify Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi as Punjab Chief Minister was unconstitutional and the Lahore High Court (LHC) order had endorsed it.

While addressing the media here on Friday after the high court suspended the Punjab Governor’s notification, the former federal minister said that the Governor committed misconduct and violated the Constitution, adding that the ‘selected governor’ could not send an elected Chief Minister home.

He disclosed that they have given an undertaking that till the next hearing, the Punjab Assembly would not be dissolved. “Although I do not agree with the court’s demand for an undertaking, we have honoured the courts by agreeing to its demand,” he added.

He maintained that under any circumstances the provincial assemblies would be dissolved, be it after two days or two weeks and subsequently fresh elections would be held. “Ultimately, the people will decide on the new set up and there is no room for horse trading,” he added.

He stated that they are prepared for the vote of confidence; “Before the next hearing, we might hold a vote of confidence and fulfil the wishes of Punjab Governor Balighur Rehman.” “During this time, our number in the Punjab Assembly would be in full strength, as some of our members who have gone abroad will be back,” he added.

“Punjab Chief Secretary Abdullah Khan Sumbal was pressurised to implement the Governor’s unconstitutional order, claiming that he was even manhandled and locked up in a room,” he added,

He also urged President Arif Alvi to take action on the letter of Punjab Assembly Speaker Sabtain Khan by removing the Punjab Governor as he (Governor) cannot remove an elected Chief Minister.

On this occasion, PTI Central Punjab General Secretary Hammad Azhar said that even under the martial law regimes, the country had never seen a political drama that it was seeing today. He observed that the country’s economy cannot bear more political instability; “If all the pillars of the state worked within the framework of Constitution, we would be able to maintain political stability and economic growth,” he added.

Earlier, taking to the media, Azhar said the Punjab Governor’s action was unconstitutional and unlawful; “last night the Governor single-handedly changed the entire Constitution. We want to ask on whose instruction this step was taken,” he added.

He claimed that the Punjab Chief Secretary, who is an honest and upright officer, had told the Punjab Chief Minister and the PTI senior leadership that the Punjab Governor’s order was illegal and hence he would not issue a notification. He further claimed that ‘someone’ sent a person to the Chief Secretary’s house and office, and forced him to issue the notification. “Who was that ‘someone’?” he questioned.

“Is this how the country would run; three or four people take decisions in a closed room on future government set-ups,” he added.

He observed that fear of PTI Chairman Imran Khan returning to power had spread panic in the other camp and it was using all means, including violating the Constitution and the law, to block him (Khan). He maintained that the Pervaiz Elahi’s government was still intact and they would not be intimidated with such tactics. “Such actions will only bring more instability in the country and it will have severe consequences for the economy, which was already seeing a meltdown in the last eight months,” he added.

PTI senior leader Shibli Faraz said that the country has been subjected to instability for the last eight months, which has put the economy in crisis and claimed that the country was being pushed towards anarchy. “The Constitution and the law have been held hostage by a group of people who were determined to not allow fresh elections,” he added.

Former federal minister Shafqat Mehmood pointed out that democracy does not work without following the Constitution and the law. “Under which law the Punjab Governor issued the order and how can he remove the Chief Minister? We will not accept any order that violates the constitution and the law,” he added.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2022