Punjab governor’s swearing-in ceremony deferred till May 7

LAHORE: The swearing-in ceremony of Sardar Saleem Haider Khan as Punjab governor, scheduled for today, has been postponed till May 7, “due to inevitable reasons”.

Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Central Punjab General Secretary Hassan Murtaza announced this Sunday adding that the governor’s oath-taking ceremony would be held at the Governor House on May 7 at 6pm.

President Asif Ali Zardari on Saturday approved the appointments of Saleem Haider, Faisal Karim Kundi and Jaffar Khan Mandokhail as governors of Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, respectively. Kundi has already taken oath as the KP governor.

According to a statement issued from the President’s Office, the head of the state accorded his approval based on Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s advice in accordance with Article 101 (1) of the Constitution.

The appointment came a day after PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, following days of consideration, named one of his party loyalists Salim Haider for the key position of Punjab.

As per media reports, the PPP chairman met Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif at the Prime Minister House on Friday to finalise the name for the key slot.

Both the leaders approved the name of Haider for governorship in Punjab.

Saleem Haider's profile

Saleem Haider — a PPP loyalist — belongs to Punjab’s Attock district who also served as a former federal minister and prime minister’s aide for overseas Pakistanis in the previous tenure of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government.

Additionally, the politician is also the president of the Bilawal-led party’s Rawalpindi division.

Saleem will replace the current Governor Baligh Ur Rehman — who is a senior leader of the ruling PML-N. Baligh had assumed office on May 30, 2022, after the ouster of former prime minister Imran Khan-led government in the Centre.