Hamza Shehbaz moves LHC once again over delay in Punjab CM oath-taking

Hamza Shehbaz approached on Friday the Lahore High Court (LHC) for a third time over a delay in him being sworn in as the chief minister of Punjab. He was elected to the position more than two weeks ago.

In his petition, Hamza stated that the LHC's earlier order asking Punjab Governor Omer Sarfaraz Cheema to administer the oath to him or appoint someone else to do so was being violated.

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“The Punjab governor has once again refused to respect the ruling of the Lahore High Court,” Hamza cited in the petition, which highlighted the federal and Punjab governments. He also urged the court to appoint an official to administer the oath.

On Thursday, Governor Cheema had decided against administering oath to Hamza and filed an intra-court plea against the directives issued to him by the high court.

"I have written to the Punjab advocate general and the Punjab Assembly speaker to seek their opinion on the assembly secretary's report, LHC directions and other facts to make up my mind whether to hold the oath-taking ceremony at the Governor House or not," Cheema said. In the past, he has said he believes Hamza's election as chief minister was not conducted in accordance with the law.

On Wednesday, the LHC had ordered the Punjab governor to swear in Hamza as chief minister of the province by April 28 or appoint an official to complete the task. During the hearing, the court said the province was being run without a chief minister for 25 days, and delays in administering the oath to the CM-elect was against the constitution.