A political ally of Pakistan's former prime minister won a vote of confidence early Thursday in the Punjab Assembly, a major blow to the federal government, officials said.
Pervez Elahi secured 186 votes in the 371-seat Punjab Assembly to remain the chief minister in Punjab, weeks after the provincial governor, Balighur Rehman, sacked him. Rehman claimed he had lost the confidence of a majority in the legislature.
Elahi's win was a major challenge to the federal government of Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif, whose Pakistan Muslim League party is in opposition in the country's most populous Punjab province.
