Punjab Governor Muhammad Balighur Rehman on Tuesday said that Chief Minister Parvez Elahi refrained from taking the vote of confidence on the appointed time and date, so he and the cabinet had been de-notified.
He expressed these views while talking to various delegations at Governor House Lahore. Balighur Rehman said that the federal government was trying to run the system in smooth manner so that political and economic stability could be brought to the country. He said that the economic team headed by Federal Finance Minister Ishaq Dar was determined to bring economic stability to the country. He said that Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) had always respected court decisions. He said that the Punjab government was functioning on an interim order of the court and hoped that the Lahore High Court would announce a final verdict in the case soon. He further said that as a governor, his priority was to uphold the supremacy of the constitution.
Talking to different delegations, the governor expressed deep concern over the disregard of his constitutional order. It is the constitutional power of the Governor to summon the Assembly session for Chief Minister’s vote of confidence. “I was quite satisfied that the CM Elahi did not command the confidence of the house, and therefore exercised my constitutional discretion to require the CM to pass the floor test,” he said. “The Punjab Assembly speaker has illegally disregarded the discretionary orders of my constitutional office,” he added. He was of the view that the speaker has no power to interfere in the constitutional powers of the governor, and added that the act of the speaker was illegal and unconstitutional. He further added that challenging the governor’s order in court was also unfounded as taking political matters to courts and involving them in political situation in Punjab was completely unnecessary.
Meanwhile, a farewell meeting was held between Governor Punjab Muhammad Balighur Rahman and outgoing British High Commissioner Christian Turner in Lahore. On this occasion, Governor Punjab Muhammad Balighur Rahman appreciated the services of Christian Turner during his stay as High Commissioner in Pakistan and said that he played an important role in expanding trade relations between Pakistan and the United Kingdom in various fields. He said that the British High Commissioner also played an active role in helping and rehabilitating the flood victims. On this occasion, Governor Punjab also expressed his best wishes to the outgoing British High Commissioner for new responsibilities in the future. He expressed his successor will also play their role in strengthening the relations between the two countries.
