LHC annuls Elahi’s de-notification plea as Punjab governor revokes order 

Lahore: The Lahore High Court (LHC) Thursday annulled the decision of Punjab Chief Minister Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi’s de-notification after the governor Balighur Rehman withdrew the order — as the provincial chief executive managed to win crucial post-midnight trust vote in the Punjab Assembly

A five-member bench comprising Justice Abid Aziz Shaikh, Justice Chaudhry Muhammad Iqbal, Justice Tariq Saleem Sheikh, Justice Asim Hafeez and Justice Muzamil Akhtar Shabir took up Pervaiz Elahi’s plea. 

During today's hearing, Governor's lawyer told the bench that his counsel had revoked the order.

“Governor has received the report of the no-trust move and, hence, has no objections," he said.

Justice Abid Aziz Sheikh, who heads the five-member bench, remarked that the issue surrounding the trust vote had been settled. 

The court, then, stated that the matter had been resolved in the provincial assembly and courts should not be involved in political issues unnecessarily, before disposing of Elahi’s petition. 

The bench, however, declared the petition ‘null and void’.

The court hearing resumed today after Elahi, on the orders of Governor Rehman, managed to pass a vote of confidence in the assembly, following a chaotic session that took place late on Thursday night. 

The governor withdrew the order to de-notify Chief Minister Pervaiz Elahi after he managed to secure the confidence of 186 members in the Punjab Assembly. 

In December, the Punjab governor denotified Elahi as the chief minister in a bid to forestall Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Imran Khan’s plan to dissolve the Punjab Assembly.