PPP's Saleem Haider takes oath as Punjab governor

LAHORE: Pakistan People’s Party’s (PPP) Sardar Saleem Haider on Friday took oath as the 47th Punjab Governor, ARY News reported.

Chief Justice Lahore High Court (LHC) Chief Justice Shehzad Khan administered the oath to Sardar Saleem Haider in a ceremony held at the Governor House.

Sardar Saleem Haider took oath in Urdu. The swearing-in ceremony was also attended by the outgoing governor belonging to the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Balighur Rehman and Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz.

PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari was also present on the occasion

The oath-taking ceremony was postponed twice as the outgoing governor was abroad. The swearing-in ceremony was initially scheduled for May 5, which was later postponed to Tuesday, the 7^th May at 6:00 pm.

The ceremony could not be held on May 7 too as it was rescheduled for May 10.

On May 4, President Asif Ali Zardari accorded his approval to the appointment of governors for Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and Balochistan provinces.

Following the approval, Sardar Slaeem Haider Khan has been appointed as Governor Punjab, Faisal Karim Kundi as Governor KP and Jaffar Khan Mandokhail as Governor Balochistan.

The president approved the appointments based on Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s advice in accordance with Article 101 (1) of the Constitution, said a statement issued by President Secretariat.

The development came a day after PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari named two senior party leaders — Sardar Saleem Haider Khan and Faisal Karim Kundi — for the posts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and Punjab governors as part of the deal reached with PML-N before joining the coalition government.