The counsel representing Punjab Chief Minister Pervaiz Elahi has turned down the proposal that if Elahi goes for a trust vote in the Punjab Assembly, the Punjab governor will withdraw a letter denotifying him as the chief minister.

The proposal came from the lawyer representing Govnoer Baligur Rehman, who in December issued the notification for the removal of Elahi after the provincial assembly failed to hold a trust vote on the governor’s oders .

Elahi, who is from PMLQ, and his PTI allies challenged the notification before the Lahore High Court asking it to declare it null and void. Baligur Rehman, who represents the PMLN-led federal government, maintained that the notification was legally justified as he perceived that the chief minister had lost majority support in Punjab Assembly and thus he must seek a confidence vote.

At the previous hearing in December, the court had suspended the governor’s notification and allowed Elahi to seek a confidence vote until January 11, but he did not avail the opportunity.

On Wednesday, when the five-member Lahore High Court bench met again, Justice Abid Aziz Shaikh asked if the political parties had resolved the issue.

Governor Baligur Rehman’s counasel said that issue could be resolved if the CM wins a confidence vote from the assembly.

“Is the councel making an offer?” the judge asked.

The offer was if the CM wins the vote, the governor will withdraw the notification, the lawyer said adding that the chief minister had already been awarded ample time to seek a vote.

The court offered that it could modify the governor’s order and set a new date for the confidence vote. “The court would allow reasonable time to resovle the issue,” said Justice Shaikh.

However, Elahi’s counsel Ali Zafar turned down the offer from the governor and urged the court to decide on the constitutionality of the notification about the removal of Elahi.

The court proceedings continued well into the afternoon.