Hamza’s oath-taking unconstitutional, insists Punjab governor

LAHORE: Punjab Governor Omer Sarfaraz Cheema has termed the oath-taking of Chief Minister Punjab Hamza Shehbaz Sharif 'unconstitutional' as, according to him, Sardar Usman Buzdar's resignation is yet to be accepted.

Addressing a press conference on Sunday, Omer Sarfaraz Cheema said as long as he was the governor, the Governor’s House could not become the hub of any political activity of any party. He said he was the constitutional head of the province and he had to keep in view all constitutional aspects, adding that after he had written a letter to the president seeking guidance over the CM's election, the oath-taking of Hamza Shehbaz was not in accordance to the law. He said it was regretful that a circus had been going on in the largest province of the country for over a month and asserted he would only take oath from the person who would be elected constitutionally.

Cheema threw a challenge to the prime minister to hold a live debate over this issue and urged him to come up with his son and the legal team. He said the resignation of Usman Buzdar was the real cause of 'tension' and stated that under the law, the resignation must be written by the CM himself if he wanted to resign. The governor also condemned the siege of Governor’s House by the Punjab Police contingent.