'Hamza Shehbaz to take oath of Punjab CM today'

LAHORE: Punjab’s Chief Minister-elect Hamza Shehbaz will take oath today, citing Governor House sources, ARY News reported on Saturday.

Chairman Senate Sadiq Sanjrani will administer oath to the newly elected chief minister Hamza Shehbaz, sources at the Governor House said.

According to sources, the oath taking ceremony will be held at Darbar Hall of the Governor House and preparations for the ceremony are already in progress.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is expected to attend the ceremony.

Meanwhile, Governor Omar Sarfraz Cheema has been unwell and admitted at Lahore’s Services Hospital. The governor has complained of diarrhea and being treated at the hospital, MS of the medical facility said.

The 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 refused to administer oath to him.

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 decision to the president for implementation on the orders within 24 hours.

Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) had approached the LHC 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.