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Appoint another official to administer oath to CM Punjab, LHC orders Arif Alvi
LAHORE: Lahore High Court (LHC) on Friday directed President Arif Alvi to nominate another official to take oath from Chief Minister Punjab Hamza Shehbaz after Governor Omar Sarfraz Cheema refused to administer oath to him, ARY NEWS reported.
The court ruled that the governor could not refuse to administer oath to the chief minister-elect and the president should appoint another person to administer oath to Hamza Shehbaz.
The court also directed to send a copy of the LHC’s decision to the president for implementation on the orders within 24 hours.
Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) has approached the Lahore High Court in a bid to have the governor of Punjab administer the chief minister’s oath to Hamza Shahbaz, the newly elected chief executive of the province.
Hamza Shahbaz stated that he had been elected as the Punjab chief minister on April 16, during a provincial assembly session held under the LHC’s direction and that he had secured 197 votes out of 371.
He reiterated that he had won the simple majority in the contest, after which the Acting Speaker Sardar Dost Muhammad Mazari provided copies of the result to Punjab Governor Omer Sarfraz Cheema to fulfill the requirement of oath under the rules.
The petitioner said that the governor had, however, been reluctant to administer the oath to him.