Islamabad, May 1 (UNI) Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Sunday once again sent a summary for the removal of Punjab governor President Dr Arif Alvi, according to the Express News.
According to the law, 10 days after the summary is sent the Punjab governor will automatically be dismissed, following which the premier will send advice to the president to appoint a new governor.
Therefore, the present Punjab Governor Omar Sarfaraz Cheema has 10 days left and will be removed from office after this time period is over. However, PM Shehbaz had earlier also sent a summary to the president and it has been 14 days today since it was sent and is yet to be implemented.
Punjab province has been embroiled in a legal and constitutional crisis since last month after the federal government initially said Punjab Governor Omar Sarfraz Cheema had been removed on the orders of premier Shehbaz Sharif but the former challenged the authority of the latter to sack him.
Then on April 17, hours after the governor postponed the swearing-in ceremony of the newly elected chief minister of Punjab Hamza Shahbaz, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) spokesperson Marriyum Aurangzeb had announced that he had been removed.
However, Cheema told a news conference that only the president, and not the prime minister, had the authority to remove him. Until the president notified the order of his removal, Cheema added, he would continue to hold office.
Cheema was appointed the governor last month after the former Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government removed Chaudhry Muhammad Sarwar. President Alvi had issued orders for the removal of ex-Punjab governor at 4 am, following then premier Imran Khan’s request immediately.
