Islamabad, Pakistan (CU)_ Chaudhry Parvez Elahi was sworn in as the next chief minister of Punjab province just hours after the Pakistan Supreme Court ruled on a controversial decision. Accordingly, in a major blow to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Pakistan’s Supreme Court reversed the Punjab assembly deputy speaker’s decision and appointed Elahi as chief minister of the politically important province of Punjab.
The Supreme Court order said, “We find that the understanding and implementation of the said short judgment as well as the provisions of Article 63-A(1)(b) of the Constitution by the Deputy Speaker, Provincial Assembly of Punjab, Lahore, was patently incorrect and erroneous and cannot be sustained.”
Elahi, who was defeated in the election despite receiving a majority of the vote, opposed the judgment of deputy speaker Dost Mazari, who awarded the victory to Hamza, the son of Prime Minister Sharif. A three-member panel consisting of Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial, Justices Ijazul Ahsan and Munib Akhtar addressed the case and ordered that Pervez Elahi will be the chief minister of Punjab state.
At first, it appeared that Hamza had retained his position as chief minister of Punjab province by the narrowest of margins following Mazari’s rejection of 10 votes of the opposition candidate Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi’s Pakistan Muslim League-Q (PML-Q) party, who is an ally of former prime minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), based on Article 63-A of the Constitution.
At the 368-member Punjab Assembly, Hamza’s Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party earned 179 votes, and Elahi’s PML-Q party received 176 votes. Ten of Elahi’s PML-Q votes were disregarded on the grounds that they had disobeyed the party leader Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain. According to Mazari, as party head, Hussain’s direction to PML-Q members to vote for Hamza instead of Elahi had greater influence.
Elahi’s oath had been ordered to be administered by Punjab Governor Baligh Ur Rehman by a three-member bench. However, Rehman denied fulfilling his responsibilities. In response to Governor Rehman’s denial, Elahi traveled to Islamabad on the same day to take the oath of office from Pakistani President Arif Alvi, as directed by the Supreme Court.
The former prime minister and PTI chief Imbran Khan welcomed the Supreme Court’s ruling. He said, “I appreciate our SC judges for standing firm and upholding the Constitution and law, against all manner of threats and abuse. I want to thank the people of Punjab for coming out in unprecedented numbers in by election against rigging”.
