LAHORE: Former Punjab Chief Minister Hamza Shahbaz was officially named the Leader of the Opposition in the Punjab Assembly (PA) on Sunday. A notification regarding Hamza’s appointment was issued following the approval of PA Speaker Sibtain Khan. It may be recalled that the post of the opposition leader had been lying vacant since the change of governments in Punjab.

Hamza Shehbaz was removed as the opposition leader in April this year after being appointed as the Punjab chief minister. However, merely four days after taking oath as the provincial chief executive, Hamza’s ascension to the office was declared unlawful, bringing even his second stint to an abrupt end, cutting short his tenure even shorter than the first one.

His two short stints as the Punjab chief minister remained marred by controversies. From securing votes from dissident PTI lawmakers that were later declared void, to being controversially declared a winner in contentious chief minister’s elections despite securing seven fewer votes, Hamza’s office had remained under clouds through and through.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2022