Trust vote
\nI don\u2019t accept letter that governor has written for vote of confidence, Elahi says
\n Islamabad
\nPunjab Chief Minister Chaudhry Parvez Elahi Thursday ruled out following Governor Baligh-ur-Rehman\u2019s orders for taking a vote of confidence and termed the directions \u201cillegal\u201d.
\nIn a press conference in Lahore, the chief minister said: \u201cI don\u2019t accept the letter that the governor has written for the vote of confidence. If I take the vote of confidence, then it means that I am accepting the letter.\u201d
\nThe move will likely intensify the political turmoil in Punjab, which came to a halt after the Lahore High Court (LHC) reinstated Elahi as the CM following his de-notification by the governor.
\nThe court reinstated Elahi on December 23 and adjourned the hearing till January 11. Although it restricted the CM from dissolving the assembly, the court said its order would not stop Elahi from taking a vote of confidence.
\nAs a result, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) \u2014 an ally of Elahi \u2014 started working and the party\u2019s leaders claimed that the CM would take the trust vote before January 11 \u2014 the hearing\u2019s date.
\nBut problems have arisen for the CM after independent lawmaker Syeda Zahra Naqvi said she was an ally of PTI and not Elahi, The News reported, with three members of the PTI also set to rebel against the party\u2019s decision to back the Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) leader.
\n\u201cThe governor wants me to follow his illegal order, but I will not do it,\u201d the chief minister said, as the ruling coalition in Punjab scrambles to ensure his position.
\nInquiry into confession
\nCM Elahi said the authorities were still investigating the confession statement of the suspected shooter who allegedly tried to assassinate PTI Chairman Imran Khan in Wazirabad during the long march in November.
\n\u201cHowever, the IG isn\u2019t present here as Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has sent him to America,\u201d the chief minister claimed, highlighting that the centre was creating hurdles for Punjab in investigating the incidents surrounding the assassination bid.
\nKhan was shot in the leg as he waved to crowds from a truck-mounted container while leading a protest march to Islamabad to pressure the government into announcing an early election \u2014 but it was cut short in Rawalpindi.
\nIn a new claim surrounding the events of the assassination, PTI Senior Vice-President Fawad Chaudhry has claimed the bid to kill Khan was carried out by three attackers, all of whom struck him from three different sides.
\nBut Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah said that there was only one person involved in the bid and rejected the PTI\u2019s assertions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Trust vote I don\u2019t accept letter that governor has written for vote of confidence, Elahi says Islamabad Punjab Chief Minister Chaudhry Parvez Elahi Thursday ruled out following Governor Baligh-ur-Rehman\u2019s orders for taking a vote of confidence and termed the directions \u201cillegal\u201d. In a press conference in Lahore, the chief minister said: \u201cI don\u2019t accept the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-305702","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-top-news"},"yoast_head":"\n