Parvez Elahi moves Lahore High Court against governor's order denotifying him as Punjab chief minister

Pakistan's Punjab province Chief Minister Chaudhry Parvez Elahi on Friday filed a petition in the Lahore High Court challenging the order issued by Governor Baligur Rehman denotifying him from holding the constitutional post. Punjab, which is the largest province of Pakistan, plunged into a constitutional crisis after Governor Rehman in the early hours of Friday denotified Elahi as chief minister for not complying with his order to obtain the vote of confidence.

The governor, however, asked Elahi to continue working till his successor is appointed.

Elahi's cabinet has also been dissolved by the governor.

The governor, who belongs to the former prime minister Nawaz Sharif's Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) has taken the step to stop Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan from dissolving the Punjab Assembly.

Khan had announced that he will dissolve the Punjab and Kyber Pakhtaunkhawa provincial assemblies where his party is in power to push the federal coalition led by PML-N to call for snap polls.

Elahi, who belongs to the PTI junior coalition partner Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q), filed the petition in the LHC terming the governor's order as "unconstitutional, unlawful and of no legal effect".

In his petition, Elahi said on December 19 Governor Baligur Rehman issued an order summoning the Punjab Assembly session and requiring the chief minister to seek a vote of confidence from the house.

''In response to the order, the Punjab Assembly speaker gave a ruling declaring the summoning of the session to be unconstitutional and adjourned the ongoing session till December 23. Both of the governor's orders, seeking a vote of confidence from the chief minister and denotifying him were passed without lawful authority and are of no legal effect," he said.

The petition prayed that ''it may kindly be declared that the summoning of the session of the Punjab Assembly by the governor during an already ongoing session is unconstitutional, unlawful, and of no legal effect.'' Taking cognizance of the plea, the Lahore High Court has constituted a five-member bench headed by Justice Abid Aziz Sheikh to hear the matter.

PTI senior leader and former information minister Fawad Chaudhry said the governor will have to pay for his ''misconduct''.

''The governor's order denotifying the chief minister and his cabinet has no legal value. Chief Minister Elahi and his cabinet are functioning and a reference against the is being sent to the president for his removal from office,'' Chaudhry said in a tweet.

Punjab has not seen political stability since the ouster of prime minister Imran Khan through a "vote of no confidence" in April this year and several petitions are still pending before the courts relating to the chief minister's election.