LAHORE: Punjab Governor Omar Sarfaraz Cheema, in a surprise move Saturday, rejected the resignation of Usman Buzdar saying Constitutional requirements were not fulfilled.
The development came after the orders of the Lahore High Court (LHC), directing National Assembly Speaker Raja Pervaiz Ashraf to administer the oath to Hamza Shahbaz today at 11:30am.
Omar Sarafraz Cheema, in his letter to Punjab Assembly Speaker Pervaiz Elahi, stated that the March 28 resignation letter of Usman Buzdar was not in accordance with the rules as it was addressed to the prime minister and not to the governor which was mandatory as per sub-section 8 of Article 130 of the Constitution.
“The resignation was not addressed to the governor which was unconstitutional and thus rejected,” Cheema stated.
Read more: PTI to challenge LHC ruling on Hamza oath-taking issue
On Friday, the Lahore High Court (LHC) ordered National Assembly Speaker to take oath from Punjab Chief Minister-elect Hamza Shehbaz.
The court issued its reserved verdict on a third plea filed by Hamza Shehbaz and ordered the NA Speaker Raja Perviaz Ashraf to administer the oath to him at 11:30 AM by tomorrow Saturday, April 30.
Hamza Shehbaz had filed a third plea seeking the administration of oath to him by “a person nominated by the court” owing to the “defiant attitude” of President Arif Alvi and the Punjab Governor Omar Sarfraz Cheema. Hamza has sought the high court’s intervention in his oath-taking ceremony as the government had delayed his oath-taking ceremony on several grounds.
