NA speaker administers oath to Hamza Shehbaz as Punjab CM

Hamza Shehbaz, the son of prime minister Shehbaz Sharif, took oath on Saturday as Punjab Chief Minister at a ceremony held at the Governor House, putting an end to a long stretch of uncertainty over leadership in the province.

National Assembly Speaker Raja Pervaiz Ashraf administered the oath to Hamza. The ceremony was attended by federal ministers and other Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz leaders.

Ahead of the ceremony, security was beefed up around the Governor House and police and Rangers were deployed around the building.

Punjab governor restores Buzdar's cabinet

Earlier, Punjab Governor Omer Sarfraz Cheema had rejected the resignation of Usman Buzdar as CM, hours before Punjab CM-elect Hamza Shehbaz was set to take oath as Buzdar's successor.

Former Punjab education minister Murad Raas has also confirmed the development, saying that Cheema had restored Buzdar's cabinet and a meeting of the provincial cabinet had been called.

Speaking to reporters outside the Punjab Assembly, Buzdar said that he, too, had received a copy of Cheema's letter to the PA speaker regarding the rejection of his resignation and that it would be discussed in the cabinet meeting.

On Friday, Lahore High Court (LHC) Justice Fawad Hassan had asked Speaker of National Assembly Raja Pervaiz Ashraf to administer oath to Hamza on April 30 (today) at 11:30 A.M. at Lahore.

The court observed that while passing the judgments, this court has enunciated the principles of law having binding effect under Article 201 of the Constitution which have been disregarded not only by the President of Pakistan but also by the Governor of Punjab, causing non-fulfilment of his constitutional duty thereby violating Article 5 read with Article 189 and 201 of the Constitution.

LHC asks NA Speaker to administer oath to Punjab CM-elect today

The court observed, “It is the duty of the court to protect fundamental rights provided and guaranteed under the Constitution.”

The court said the constitution empowered this court to issue any appropriate directions for the enforcement of fundamental rights.

On Friday, Hamza had moved the LHC for the third time over a delay in his oath-taking.

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.

“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.