Will dissolve Khyber Pakhtunkhwa assembly on Imran's order: Mahmood

KHYBER PAKHTUNKHWA [PAKISTAN]: Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province's Chief Minister Mahmood Khan said that the assembly was not dissolved but it can be done if Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chief Imran Khan asks him to do so, Geo News reported.

"The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly was not dissolved due to the new developments in Punjab. Both the assemblies were supposed to be dissolved simultaneously but it didn't happen due to the new political situation in Punjab," Khan said.

He further added that he is waiting for Imran Khan to give instructions and "we will act whatever instructions he gave us." Mahmood Khan said that he would surrender his government as soon as he asked him to do so.

Besides Mahmood Khan, the PTI leaders are confident that they will sweep the general elections in the province on the basis of their performance, reported Geo News.

Imran Khan had earlier announced to dissolve the two provincial assemblies of Punjab and KP together, apparently trying to put pressure on the coalition government of the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) to hold early elections in the country.

Imran Khan has been accusing the PDM leaders of escaping from the elections, saying they knew PTI would sweep the polls if held transparently. In KP particularly, the entire PTI leadership wanted Imran Khan to let the provincial government complete its tenure as it had initiated a number of projects in the province.

Earlier, in Punjab province, Lahore High Court (LHC) reinstated PML-Q leader Chaudhry Parvez Elahi as the Punjab chief minister, Dawn reported. The court's decision came after Elahi gave an undertaking assuring the court that he would not dissolve the provincial assembly. The court in its ruling also restored the provincial cabinet.

The court issued the directives after a five-member bench took up Elahi's plea challenging Punjab Governor Balighur Rehman's orders to de-notify him as the provincial chief executive.

Chaudhry Parvez Elahi filed the petition after Punjab Governor on Thursday denotified him as Punjab's Chief Minister in order to prevent ousted Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan from dissolving the assembly.

During the court session, Elahi gave an undertaking wherein he said that he would not dissolve the provincial assembly until the next hearing, according to Dawn.

"If me and my cabinet are reinstated, then I will not send the assembly dissolution summary to the governor till the next hearing," the undertaking, which was read aloud by Zafar in the courtroom, as per Dawn.

Following the submission of the undertaking, the court reinstated Elahi as Punjab's CM and asked the respondents to submit a response at the next hearing scheduled for January 11, 2023.

Speaking to the media outside the courtroom, Elahi's son, Moonis Elahi, said that the PML-Q respected the judiciary. "We will seek a vote of confidence and will dissolve the assembly the same day," Dawn quoted Moonis Elahi as saying.