• President administers oath to Elahi after refusal by Punjab governor
• All actions taken by outgoing CM are of no legal effect
ISLAMABAD: In a decision that was awaited with bated breath by political observers, the media and all the parties involved, the Supreme Court late on Tuesday declared Chaudhry Parvez Elahi as the duly elected chief minister of Punjab for securing 186 votes against the 179 of his opponent, PML-N’s Hamza Shehbaz, in the July 22 run-off poll for the coveted office of the province.
Later, in the small hours of Wednesday morning, President Dr Arif Alvi administered the oath to CM-designate Elahi at Aiwan-i-Sadr in Islamabad.
Mr Elahi had to rush from Lahore to the federal capital after Punjab Governor Balighur Rehman refused to carry out the job. Earlier when the short order was pronounced by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial, Moonis Elahi, a son of the petitioner Parvez Elahi, was surrounded by PTI and PML-Q supporters and lawyers in courtroom No 1 to congratulate him. PTI senior leaders, including Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Asad Umar, Fawad Chaudhry, also accompanied former minister Moonis.
The CJP-led three-judge bench, also comprising Justice Ijazul Ahsan and Justice Munib Akhtar, announced the judgement in the absence of counsel for the respondent ruling coalition parties, who had during the proceedings earlier in the day informed the court that on the instructions of their clients, they were boycotting the hearing. Their clients intended to move a review petition against the court’s Monday decision of declining their request for a full court to hear Mr Elahi’s petition against the rejection of 10 votes of PML-Q lawmakers polled in his favour during the CM’s election in the Punjab Assembly on July 22.Soon after the verdict was announced, a jubilant crowd carrying PTI flags present outside the Supreme Court on the Constitution Avenue as well as a number of supporters on the premises burst into cheers and sloganeering. Source: dawn news.com
Thursday, May 7, 2026
