As political upheaval and constitutional crisis develop in Punjab, provincial assembly Speaker Sibtain Khan suspended the session until Friday.
The Punjab governor called the provincial legislature on December 21 (Wednesday) for a no-confidence resolution against Chief Minister Parvez Elahi.
According to a notification issued by the Punjab Governor’s Secretariat, “The governor Punjab is pleased to sign order summoning the provincial assembly of Punjab at 1600 hours (4 pm) on Wednesday and requiring the chief minister of Punjab to obtain a vote of confidence in terms of Article 130(7) of the Constitution.”
Speaker Sibtain Khan said in his ruling that the governor couldn’t call a new session until the current session is put on hold, which is what a three-member bench of the Lahore High Court said in the Manzoor Ahmad Wattoo vs. Federation of Pakistan case.
The speaker also said that Article 130(7) of the Constitution says that the governor can call a session for a vote of confidence and that this can “only be decided in a session called for this purpose.”
Khan also said that the speaker could only call such a session if the current session is put on hold. Therefore, the governor cannot call for a vote of confidence under Article 130(7) while the current session continues.
The speaker also said that, according to the order from the LHC, the chief minister should have “not less than ten days” to get the vote of confidence. “By law, that is the minimum amount of time that must be given to the chief minister.”
