ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday met President Dr Arif Alvi for the first time after assuming the prime minister’s office.
According to a press release issued by the President’s Secretariat, Prime Minister Shehbaz called on President Dr Alvi at Aiwan-e-Sadr.
Issues relating to the political and economic situation in the country were discussed during the meeting.
According to the sources, the meeting lasted for just 15 to 17 minutes.
The meeting comes amid clash between the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) over the removal of Punjab Governor Omer Sarfaraz Cheema.
The meeting was aimed at reducing the bitterness and the political tensions that have enveloped the county after the ouster of the Imran Khan-led government through a no-confidence motion, the sources said.
Sanjrani, not Alvi, administers oath to Shehbaz
After electing PML-N leader Hamza Shehbaz as chief minister of Punjab, Cheema said he would not administer oath to Hamza, claiming that the Punjab Assembly secretary’s report, the high court’s instructions and “the facts presented” to him raised questions about the validity of the chief minister’s election.
On April 19, President Dr Alvi had instructed Punjab Governor Cheema to continue to hold office despite a summary moved by the premier seeking his removal.
Since then there was speculation that Cheema would be removed from his position by the federal government.
However, in a press conference on Sunday, the governor had claimed that the prime minister did not have the authority to remove the governor.
“He should send a summary to the president because I am holding this office with the pleasure of the president of Pakistan. Until the president notifies [the order to remove me], I am holding this office,” Cheema had said. Subsequently, PML-N leader Marriyum Aurangzeb said the government was sending a summary to the president for his removal.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2022
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