Parvez Elahi rejects denotification, says will continue to work as CM

• CM Elahi rejects de-notification by Punjab governor. 
• Says he will continue work as chief minister. 
• Elahi to move LHC today. 

LAHORE: Chaudhry Parvez Elahi, who has been denotified from his position as chief minister of Punjab by governor Balighur Rehman, has rejected the notification and made up his mind to move the court.

“I reject the de-notification. I am the Chief Minister of Punjab and the cabinet will continue to function,” Chaudhry Parvez Elahi said while talking to the media in Friday's early hours.

Elahi's legal team, led by Amir Saeed Advocate, will move the court against the decision.

Punjab Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Raja Basharat also held a meeting with Parvez Elahi and discussed the legal options before moving the court this morning.

Meanwhile, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) also rejected the governor’s notification. The notification de-notifying CM Elahi has "no legal status," said Senior Vice-President Fawad Chaudhry.

Taking to Twitter, Fawad said Parvez Elahi and the provincial cabinet will continue to perform their duties, and a reference will be sent to the president for the governor’s dismissal from his office.

A draft is being readied for an official letter to President Arif Alvi highlighting the governor's alleged misconduct and a petition is being prepared against Governor Punjab Baligh Ur Rehman.

The legal team of the PTI will move the court today. 

Governor denotifies Elahi as CM

Upping the ante for the PML-N, the governor issued a de-notification order for Parvez Elahi, dismissing him from his office, as according to him, he does not command the majority vote in the provincial assembly.

"Since CM has refrained from obtaining the vote of confidence at the appointed day and time therefore he ceases to hold office. Orders issued this evening," Rehman wrote on his Twitter handle, sharing a copy of the notification.

In the notification, the governor mentioned that despite an order issued for the CM to take a vote of confidence, he did not follow suit. Moreover, Elahi did not take the vote after 24 hours, the notification said.

"I am satisfied that he does not command the confidence of the majority of the members of the Punjab Assembly and therefore ceases to hold his office with immediate effect," the notification stated.

The notification also mentioned that the provincial cabinet stands dissolved and the chief minister will continue performing his duties until a new person is elected to office.