The Supreme Court on Tuesday declared Deputy Speaker Dost Muhammad Mazari’s ruling on Punjab chief minister’s election null and void and ruled that Pervaiz Elahi will be the new chief minister of the province.
A three-member bench comprising Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial and Justices Ijazul Ahsan and Munib Akhtar announced the verdict after completion of the arguments on Punjab CM election case.
The apex court ordered the Punjab Governor Balighur Rehman to administer the oath to Elahi by 11:30pm. The SC also nullified all appointments made by ‘trustee CM’ Hamza Shahbaz.
In case the Punjab governor does not administer the oath to Elahi, President Dr Arif Alvi can do so instead, the court ruled.
The court also directed the Punjab chief secretary to issue Pervaiz Elahi’s CM notification today and ordered Hamza Shehbaz to vacate the Chief Minister’s Office immediately.
Pervaiz Elahi, who bagged 186 votes against Hamza’s 179 votes, had challenged the ruling in SC after deputy speaker Mazari rejected 10 PML-Q votes for going against party chief’s directive.
