Islamabad [Pakistan]: After weeks of delay in the swearing-in of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Hamza Shehbaz as the Chief Minister of Punjab, the formation of a new provincial cabinet is also likely to be delayed till the removal of incumbent Governor Omar Sarfaraz Cheema.
Earlier, Punjab Assembly Speaker Chaudhry Parvez Elahi and Governor Cheema had made it difficult for Hamza to take oath even two weeks after he got elected in an assembly session marked by unprecedented mayhem, reported Dawn. One of the senior leaders of the PML-N revealed on Sunday that the discussion to finalize the names for the PML-N-led Punjab cabinet was underway, but the process might be delayed for a couple of weeks till the governor’s removal.
Slamming the Punjab Governor Cheema, the senior PML-N leader said, “As long as Cheema is in office, he is not going to administer oath the to new Punjab cabinet for sure, compelling us to move the court. Therefore, we have decided instead of seeking court’s intervention again for the purpose, [we should] wait till his (Cheema’s) ouster by mid of this month.”
PML-N leader argued, “The PML-N does not want oath-taking matter of new Punjab cabinet to be taken to the court like that of Hamza’s and can wait for 10 days or so, seeing the ruling coalition’s own governor taking the charge.”
The cabinet formation is also mired with controversy. A sword of de-seating was still hanging on the 26 PTI dissidents who voted for the PML-N leader in the election of the chief minister.
Hamza Shahbaz was elected as the new chief minister with 197 votes on April 16, just a few days after the ouster of PTI chairman Imran Khan’s government however his oath-taking ceremony was delayed. Governor Omar Sarfraz Cheema had rejected the former Punjab CM Usman Buzdar’s resignation, deeming it “not constitutionally valid”.
Cheema ruled his election controversial due to the ruckus that took place in the Assembly.
Moreover, former federal minister Moonis Elahi of the PML-N called the Punjab CM fake and accused him of stealing the PTI chairman Imran Khan’s mandate to become a ‘controversial’ chief minister, as per the media outlet.
He also expressed hope that the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) would not prolong the case of PTI turncoats and de-seat them as they had defected to the PML-N. (ANI)