PTI TAKES U-TURN ON CM PUNJAB'S TRUST VOTE DECISION


(PTI Chairman Imran Khan converses with Punjab Chief Minister Parvez Elahi during a meeting at his Zaman Park residence)

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  • PTI determines Elahi won't participate in the trust vote.
  • The governor's order should not be followed, Imran Khan suggested.
  • At Khan's Zaman Park residence, there are now consultations.

Before the Lahore High Court's (LHC) January 11 hearing of a lawsuit relating to his de-notification, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), reversing its prior consensus, determined that Punjab Chief Minister Chaudhry Parvez Elahi will not take a vote of confidence.

On December 23, when Governor Baligh Ur Rehman had denotified CM Parvez Elahi for failing to accept the vote of confidence from the provincial parliament, the LHC reinstated Elahi.

Elahi promised not to dissolve the assembly prior to the next hearing, therefore the LHC delayed the notification after hearing the views of the Punjab government and others.

At a later PTI consultative meeting held at Imran Khan's Zaman Park home, it was determined that the election will take place before January 11.

Elahi had a change of heart on Friday and refused to abide by the governor's orders, which compelled the PTI to devise a countermove.

In response to Elahi's hesitation to cast the trust vote, sources informed that the PTI head had instructed party leaders to guarantee that voting went place and that PTI legislators would resign from the assembly if any obstacles were put in the way of the Punjab Assembly's dissolution.

The PTI has reportedly decided, on advice from the party's legal gurus, not to take a vote of confidence during the Punjab Assembly session on January 9.

According to the sources, the legal team had urged PTI Chairman Imran Khan that the trust vote should be connected to the court ruling since the governor's order requesting CM Elahi to seek a vote of confidence from the Punjab assembly lacked a legal foundation.

If voting is conducted in accordance with the Punjab governor's order before the court's decision, the order will be valid.

According to the reports, the parliamentary leader of PTI did not give any directives to the members on the vote of confidence during the session on January 9.

In contrast, PTI MPA Zainab Umair claimed that discussions on the vote of confidence were ongoing in all respects.