ISLAMABAD: The political drama in Pakistan's most populous Punjab province took another twist on Friday as a Pakistani court restored Chaudhry Parvez Elahi as the province's chief minister, less than a day after he was denotified by the governor. 

Punjab Governor Muhammad Balighur Rehman shared a notification on Thursday night that proclaimed that Chief Minister Chaudhry Parvez Elahi no longer commanded the confidence of the majority of the provincial legislature while also announcing the dissolution of his cabinet.

Former prime minister Imran Khan, who was driven out of power in a no-trust vote in April, recently announced his decision to dissolve the provincial assemblies of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, which is also ruled by PTI, to force the federal government to call early elections in the country.

Elahi, a key Khan ally, told the media he would comply with the ex-premier’s request to dissolve the provincial legislature.

The Punjab governor, who was appointed by the administration in Islamabad, employed Article 130 (7) of the Constitution on Monday to ask the chief minister to seek a vote of confidence during a session on Wednesday, December 21.

When Elahi didn't, the governor said he ceased to be the province's chief minister as he did not command the majority of the Punjab Assembly, dissolving the cabinet as well. 

Meanwhile, Elahi filed a petition at the Lahore High Court (LHC), saying that the governor's decision is an 'illegal' one, local media reported. 

A five-member bench of the Lahore High Court took up the matter and restored Elahi and his cabinet while issuing notices to the governor of Punjab and Pakistan's attorney general. 

Elahi’s counsel Barrister Ali Zafar submitted an affidavit in the court, saying that he would not dissolve the provincial assembly till the next hearing of the case. 

“We will take the vote of confidence and the day we’ll secure the vote of confidence [from the majority of Punjab assembly members], we’ll dissolve the assembly then and there,” Moonis Elahi, son of the chief minister, said while speaking to reporters outside the court. 

Following the reassurance, the court also issued notices to all the parties in the case and summoned them on January 11.

Earlier, Elahi stated in his petition in court that the Punjab Assembly speaker did not summon a session for him to seek a vote of confidence upon the governor’s order because one session was already in process. “No action can be taken against any chief minister over the speaker’s actions,” the petition said.

Meanwhile, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), two main parties in the ruling coalition which submitted a no-trust resolution against Elahi on Monday evening, withdrew the motion. 

The no-trust resolution was no longer required anymore as Elahi had already been denotified and was no longer the chief minister, PML-N leader and federal minister Khawaja Saad Rafique confirmed on Twitter.

Elahi — along with MPAs of the PML-N and PML-Q — gathered at the Punjab Assembly Friday afternoon as a session was called at 2 pm.