Punjab governor's oath-taking ceremony postponed

Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) senior leader Hassan Murtaza said on Sunday that the oath-taking ceremony for nominated Punjab governor Sardar Saleem Haider Khan has been postponed.

Murtaza said that the ceremony that was scheduled to take place today will now be held on Tuesday (May 7) at 6:00 pm.

The PPP stalwart said, “The oath-taking ceremony for the nominated Punjab governor was postponed due to unavoidable reasons.”

On Saturday, 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 was 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.

After the Feb 8 general elections, the PPP and PML-N agreed on a mechanism to form a government in the Centre. As part of the deal, the PPP, for its support, would get some key constitutional positions.