Punjab Assembly cannot be dissolved on Friday: Sibtain Khan

Punjab Assembly (PA) Speaker Sibtain Khan said on Thursday that the dissolution of the provincial assembly could be postponed for a couple of weeks as the no-confidence motion against Chief Minister Parvez Elahi has been presented, Aaj News reported.

He was answering a question regarding the dissolution of the Punjab Assembly while speaking to journalists outside the Punjab Assembly.

Sibtain Khan said that in Friday's session, notices regarding the no-trust motions will be issued. “We also wish to dissolve assemblies and go to masses for fresh mandate, but the governor s creating obstacles,” he said, adding that the PTI will remove all obstacles one by one.

The speaker maintained that the no-trust vote would be deferred to the first week of January 2023.

On December 17, PTI chief Imran Khan announced that the provincial assemblies of Punjab and KP, where his party is in power, would be dissolved on December 23 to pave way for fresh elections.

Regarding the vote of confidence issue, Sibtain Khan said that the governor has the authority to summon a special PA session for the vote of confidence for the chief minister, however, he could not denotify the CM.

Speaking about Governor Baligh-ur-Rehman's letter regarding the vote of confidence, the speaker said he had responded to the governor’s letter in writing, informing him that he couldn't summon a new session in between the ongoing PA session as per the Constitution.

“The speaker is also representing a constitutional institution like the governor. As a speaker, it is not my duty to protect the chief minister. However, I have complete powers to enforce the law and protect the honour of the Punjab Assembly. Neither any institution will be sealed nor seized in violation of the Constitution and law.”

Sibtain Khan said that he will ask the governor not to issue illegal orders. He added that he is not sending a letter to the president regarding the governor, however, he will write a letter to the president in accordance with the law if the CM is denotified by the governor.

To another question regarding Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, Khan replied that Pakistan Muslim League Quaid (PML-Q) president is a respectable person, however, the Punjab government is not his concern at all. He added that the parliamentary party has powers to decide on votes in the assemblies.

Earlier today, Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Mahmood Khan also said that the party has decided to postpone the dissolution of the provincial assembly until the future of the Punjab Assembly is decided.

The development comes a day before the scheduled date for the dissolution of the KP and Punjab assemblies.

In a media talk outside the Hayatabad Sports Complex in Peshawar today, Mahmood said: “Imran Khan will first decide the future of the Punjab Assembly.”

“Right now, consultation on the matter of the Punjab Assembly is underway. The decision regarding the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly will be taken after these discussions.”