Courtesy PID
President Arif Alvi on Saturday responded to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s advice to appoint a new Punjab governor, urging him to reconsider and as “Omar Sarfaraz Cheema still holds the office of the governor and there is no occasion to propose a new appointment.”
In a statement issued by the President’s Secretariat, he said that Cheema—who is also from the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf like Alvi—shall continue to hold office “during the pleasure of the president” under Article 101(2) of the Constitution. “The present circumstances demand that the incumbent governor should continue to hold that position,” it added.
“The president also made reference to the Punjab Governor’s letter, dated April 23, 2022, and a report, dated May 4, 2022, in which it had been highlighted that the change in loyalties of the members of the Punjab Assembly, during the election of the Chief Minister of Punjab, and cobbling of the majority by illegal means had generated serious governance issues in the province as well as violated Article 63A of the Constitution,” read the statement, claiming the Supreme Court’s ruling that the votes of dissident lawmakers should not be counted had vindicated Cheema’s “principled stand.”
According to the president, Cheema’s stance was also augmented by the Election Commission of Pakistan de-seating 25 PTI MPAs in the Punjab Assembly for voting against party instructions during Hamza Shehbaz’s election for chief minister.
“In view of the above-mentioned facts, the president asked the prime minister to reconsider his advice with regard to the appointment of a new Punjab governor in accordance with Article 48(1) of the Constitution,” it added.
Cheema was de-notified as Punjab governor by the federal government on May 9, hours after Alvi had rejected the advice of the prime minister to dismiss him. The PTI has repeatedly claimed that under the Constitution the governor can only be dismissed by the president and not the prime minister. By contrast, the PMLN has maintained that the president must act on the advice of the prime minister and there is no possibility of the governor continuing in office if the federal government has sought his ouster.
The dismissed Punjab governor has refused to accept his removal and has challenged the federal government’s decision in the Islamabad High Court.