LAHORE: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) senior leader and former Punjab law minister Muhammad Basharat Raja has said Punjab Governor Omar Safraz Cheema has issued a constitutional and legal notification that restored Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar and his Cabinet.
“Thus, the oath taken by Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) senior leader Hamza Shahbaz Sharif after the notification has no constitutional status,” he said while addressing a press conference here on Saturday.
He further said that the Constitution does not mention the National Assembly Speaker administering the oath and hence they have challenged the order in the court and added that at the time when Hamza took oath the court was hearing the petition.
“An interacourt appeal against the court’s order was granted in which the petition of a larger bench was granted. If relief is not obtained from here, we will go to the Supreme Court,” he added.
He also said that no one can take the oath of new Punjab Cabinet except the Punjab Governor. He observed that today Hamza needs to realise that he made the court controversial; “for over three years, they (PML-N) chanted ‘give respect to the vote’ slogan, but today Hamza became the Chief Minister with the support of 26 turncoats”.
“Hamza should feel ashamed of becoming the CM on the PTI mandate. He does not have the majority in the Punjab Assembly as the references against deserted members have been sent to the Election Commission of Pakistan. If the turncoats lose their seats on May 6, Hamza will lose his majority,” he added.
He told the media that they have to fight a constitutional and legal war to expose the PML-N; “the PML-N is a fascist party and they have nothing to do with democracy”. He condemned the illegal takeover of the Punjab Governor House and added that Omar Sarfraz Cheema was a representative of the centre. He also termed a notice by the principal secretary unconstitutional. “When the Punjab Governor is the highest constitutional office in the province, how can the principal secretary de-notify Chief Minister Buzdar,” he questioned.
He accused the bureaucracy of siding with the PML-N and thus action will be taken against them. “There will be no exception for any officer who bypasses the legal and constitutional process,” he added. To a question, he said that they respect the verdict given by the courts and he hoped the courts will give impartial decisions in future.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2022