Lahore High Court (LHC) has order National Assembly Speaker Raja Pervez Ashraf to administer oath to Punjab Chief Minister-elect Hamza Shahbaz at 11.30 AM tomorrow (Saturday).
Shahbaz, who was elected as the chief minister on April 16th, has been facing repeated delays in his oath-taking, and had appealed to the LHC to intervene.
This development follows as the result of an order issued by the LHC on Wednesday April 27, instructing Punjab Governor Omar Sarfaraz Cheema to ensure the completion of Sharif's oath-taking as the new chief minister of Punjab by no later than April 28 (Thursday).
Cheema, who belongs to the former ruling party of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), had delayed the oath-taking of Shahbaz twice since his election on April 16.
Shahbaz had appealed to the court for assistance in this regard, saying his oath-taking had been delayed twice already, and a three-page verdict by the court ended in his favor.
In the order issued by the LHC on Wednesday, Chief Justice Ameer Bhatti said that the governor's tactics of delaying the oath administration was undemocratic and unconstitutional.
He also said that that the province had been without a ruling governmental body for the past 25 days, and that the governor must administer the oath, either himself, or through a self-appointed nominee.
President Arif Alvi was also instructed to assist in ensuring that the oath-taking took place promptly, as per his Constitutional role.
Hamza Shahbaz is finally set to take his oath as the 18th chief minister of Punjab, replacing PTI's Usman Buzdar, and following the footprints of his father, Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif, who had previously held the same position for a total of almost 11 years.
Shahbaz, who was elected as the chief minister on April 16th, has been facing repeated delays in his oath-taking, and had appealed to the LHC to intervene.
This development follows as the result of an order issued by the LHC on Wednesday April 27, instructing Punjab Governor Omar Sarfaraz Cheema to ensure the completion of Sharif's oath-taking as the new chief minister of Punjab by no later than April 28 (Thursday).
Cheema, who belongs to the former ruling party of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), had delayed the oath-taking of Shahbaz twice since his election on April 16.
Shahbaz had appealed to the court for assistance in this regard, saying his oath-taking had been delayed twice already, and a three-page verdict by the court ended in his favor.
In the order issued by the LHC on Wednesday, Chief Justice Ameer Bhatti said that the governor's tactics of delaying the oath administration was undemocratic and unconstitutional.
He also said that that the province had been without a ruling governmental body for the past 25 days, and that the governor must administer the oath, either himself, or through a self-appointed nominee.
President Arif Alvi was also instructed to assist in ensuring that the oath-taking took place promptly, as per his Constitutional role.
Hamza Shahbaz is finally set to take his oath as the 18th chief minister of Punjab, replacing PTI's Usman Buzdar, and following the footprints of his father, Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif, who had previously held the same position for a total of almost 11 years.