• Governor Punjab issued notification on dissolution of Punjab Assembly
• He invited CM Punjab and Opposition Leader to pick caretaker chief minister
• The interim chief minister must be picked within three days

LAHORE: Governor Punjab Muhammad Balighur Rehman has issued a notification calling for the appointment of a caretaker chief minister after the provincial assembly was dissolved.

The notification has been issued on the dissolution of the provincial assembly and sent to Chief Minister Punjab Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi and the Leader of the Opposition in Punjab Assembly Hamza Shehbaz.

“The Provincial Assembly of the Punjab and the Cabinet stands dissolved under Article 112(1) of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan w.e.f. 14^th January, 2023 at 2210 hours,” said the notification.

It said the caretaker chief minister shall be appointed by the government in consultation with the outgoing Chief Minister and Leader of the Opposition in the outgoing provincial assembly.

The governor called “to participate in the process of the appointment of caretaker chief minister and provide the name of a person to be appointed as such within three days” by 17 January.

The governor said the chief minister and opposition leader should meet him or arrange a meeting for the three of them, saying that he will remain available to discharge his constitutional duties.

پنجاب اسمبلی کی تحلیل کے بعد ایک متفقہ نگران وزیراعلیٰ پنجاب کے لیے وزیراعلیٰ پنجاب اور قائدِ حزب اختلاف پنجاب اسمبلی کو مراسلے جاری کر دیے گئے! pic.twitter.com/lTcVJopx1S

— M Baligh Ur Rehman (@MBalighurRehman) January 14, 2023

Punjab Assembly dissolved 

Punjab Assembly has been dissolved, two days after Chief Minister Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi signed a summary.

Punjab Governor Balighur Rehman refused to sign the summary regarding the dissolution of the provincial assembly. The governor said he will not be a part of the process of dissolution of the assembly, nor will he obstruct the constitutional process.

According to the constitution, the Punjab Assembly stands dissolved 48 hours after the chief minister sends the summary irrespective of whether the governor’s signs its.

Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi will now be the caretaker chief minister for 8 days. The process of forming an interim setup will begin under Article 224-A of the Constitution

In this regard, Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi will write a letter to the opposition leader Hamza Shehbaz for appointment of caretaker chief minister. Both will recommend three names each for post of caretaker chief minister and pick one after mutual agreement.

The caretaker Chief Minister must be nominated within 3 days.  In case of any disagreement, the Speaker will immediately form a committee to select the caretaker chief minister.

The committee will have three members each from the government and opposition sides. The committee will select one of the names sent by the chief minister and the leader of the opposition within three days.

If the committee could not agree on a single name, the matter will go to the Chief Election Commissioner who will nominate one of them as caretaker chief minister within two days.

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