Punjab Governor Balighur Rehman has de-notified Chaudhry Parvez Elahi as the chief minister, it emerged in the early hours of Friday.
On Monday, the governor had ordered Elahi to take a vote of confidence from Punjab Assembly by 4pm on Wednesday.
However, a day later, PA Speaker Sibtain Khan disposed of Rehman’s order, saying that the instructions were “against the Constitution and Rules of Procedure”, while also adjourning the assembly session till Friday.
The adjournment was viewed by the ruling PDM as a deliberate attempt to skip the vote, leading to frenzied speculation and warnings from federal government ministers like Rana Sanaullah that Elahi would be de-notified.
After the anticipation of a day and a half, the order of Elahi’s de-notification was made public a little after midnight, even though the document stated that it was prepared at 4pm on Thursday.
The notification stated that since Elahi had “refrained from obtaining vote of confidence” by 4pm on Wednesday, and “did not do so even after the lapse of another 24 hours”, the governor was “satisfied that he does not command the confidence of the majority of the members of the Punjab Assembly, and therefore ceases to hold his office with immediate effect”.
Consequently, the provincial cabinet “stands dissolved”, the notification said.
However, Elahi, whom the notification referred to as “former chief minister of Punjab”, will continue to hold office until his successor is elected, it added.