LAHORE: Punjab Governor Baligh-ur-Rehman Wednesday declared Punjab Assembly Speaker Sibtain Khan's ruling unconstitutional and illegal.

Rehman  belonging to the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) had summoned a session on Wednesday at 4pm for a vote of confidence pertaining to Chief Minister Parvez Elahi. But defying the directives, the speaker a PTI member had termed the order against the Constitution and adjourned an ongoing session till Friday.

The governor issued the  irectives under Article 130's section 7, stating that it is the speaker's responsibility to defend the Constitution and uphold the law.

"When discharging constitutional responsibility, the speaker shouldn't consider personal preference. He is bound to honestly and impartially fulfil his duties," the governor wrote in his reference to the speaker.

 In his three-page reference, the governor added that the speaker has sworn to an oath under the Constitution and cannot deviate from it.

"The speaker raised illegal points in the ruling. The Punjab Assembly speaker gave an incorrect example of the high court case and Manzoor Wattoo case," the reference stated.

The governor added that in the Lahore High Court's Wattoo vs Federation of Pakistan case, the circumstances were different compared to the current situation.

"Your good self's reliance on the abovementioned judgement of the Lahore High Court is also misplaced inasmuch as the facts and circumstances involved in this judgement are clearly distinguishable there is nothing that prevents me from requiring the chief minister to obtain vote of confidence from the Assembly."

In the letter, the governor also disregarded other rules that the speaker had cited in his ruling and added that it has "no bearing" on the order to hold a session for the confidence vote. Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah earlier threatened that the Punjab governor would issue a declaration at 4pm to remove the chief minister from office, but it did not materialise.

But later today, while speaking on local TV channel show said that under the Constitution's Article 130(7), the governor — when he deems that the CM does have the house's confidence  can ask him to take a vote of confidence and summon a special session.

Published in The Daily National Courier, December, 22 2022

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