Governor Punjab rejects Buzdar’s resignation, reinstates him as CM Punjab

LAHORE: Governor Punjab Omer Sarfraz Cheema on Saturday rejected Usman Buzdar’s resignation and reinstated him and his cabinet after highlighting constitutional concerns.

The development came just hours after the Lahore High Court (LHC) issued an order instructing National Assembly Speaker Raja Pervaiz Ashraf to administer the oath to Hamza Shahbaz at 11:30 a.m. today.

Cheema rejected the resignation, claiming that it violated Article 130, Section 8, of the Constitution.

According to the governor’s letter to Punjab Assembly Speaker Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi, Buzdar sent his resignation to former Prime Minister Imran Khan, rather than the governor, as required by the constitution.

Read more: Petition against resignation of Buzdar withdrawn from high court

The Governor stated in his letter, “As per the mentioned provision of the Constitution, a Chief Minister’s resignation must meet the following requirements in order to be valid: (a) the Chief Minister must address a handwritten letter of resignation; (b) it must be addressed to the Governor i.i Punjab, and (c) the effect of the resignation must be a resignation from his office.”

Buzdar faced a no-confidence vote and resigned on March 28 when the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) opted to back Elahi for the top job.

Later, former Governor Punjab Chaudhry Sarwar accepted Buzdar’s resignation on April 1.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Usman Buzdar arrived at the Punjab Assembly after his reinstatement to preside over a meeting of the federal cabinet.

Read more: Usman Buzdar spent 82.39pc less amount on foreign tours as compared to Shehbaz Sharif

In a press conference, he stated that he had received the governor’s letter and that he would consider the subject with his legal staff.

He declined to comment further, saying that he will declare his future course of action only after speaking with his legal team about his alternatives.