37-member Punjab cabinet takes oath despite constitutional crisis

A 37-member Punjab cabinet took oath on Sunday, a day after the Supreme Court (SC) directed Punjab Chief Minister Hamza Shahbaz to work as trustee CM till Monday, Geo News reported.

Political uproar and a constitutional crisis deepened in Punjab as Deputy Speaker Dost Mazari on Friday rejected 10 PML-Q votes during the CM Punjab election. With Mazari’s ruling, Hamza was elected as CM Punjab, while Pervez Elahi once again remained unsuccessful in acquiring Punjab’s throne.

Following Mazari’s ruling, PTI and PML-Q approached SC, however, in its decision, the apex court limited Hamza’s power and directed him to work as trustee CM.

The oath-taking ceremony of cabinet members was held at Governor House. It was attended by the Punjab inspector-general of police, members of the provincial assembly, information secretary and a large number of dignitaries. Governor Punjab Balighur Rehman administered the oath to the provincial ministers.

The ministers who took the oath included Rana Muhammad Iqbal Khan, Maher Ijaz Ahmad Achalana, Siddique Khan Baloch, Kazim Ali Pirzada, Chaudhry Shafiq, Malik Nadeem Kamran, Mian Yawar Zaman, Colonel (retd) Ayub Gadhi, Chaudhry Iqbal Gujjar, Muhammad Manshaullah Butt, Tanveer Aslam Malik, Jahangir Khanzada, Rana Mashhood Ahmed and Mian Mujtaba Shujaur Rehman.

The 37-member cabinet also includes Khawaja Imran Nazir, Bilal Yasin, Malik Saiful Mulok Khokhar, Fida Hussain Wattoo, Rana Ejaz Noon, Ms. Uzma Zahid Bukhari, Khalil Tahir Sindhu, Colonel (Rtd) Rana Muhammad Tariq, Ghulam Qasim Hanjara, Zaheer Iqbal Chanar, Zeeshan Rafiq, Sania Ashiq, Syed Hasan Murtaza, Syed Ali Haider Gilani, Bilal Asghar Waraich, Qasim Abbas Linga, Malik Asad Khokhar, Ahmed Ali Aulakh, Sabatin Bukhari, Saba Sadiq, Rana Liaquat, Ashraf Ansari and Imran Khalid Butt.

Battle for Punjab

The battle for the throne of Punjab has continued since former chief minister Usman Buzdar’s resignation.

After Buzdar, PTI had nominated PML-Q Chaudhry Pervez Elahi, while PML-N and coalition partners in the central supported Hamza Shahbaz for the top slot.

However, On April 16, Hamza Shahbaz had been elected as chief minister with a clean majority but the crisis further deepened in the province as the former governor refused to take oath.

Later, Hamza moved the Lahore High Court (LHC) and then on April 30, National Assembly Speaker Raja Pervaiz Ashraf administered the oath to Hamza on the directives of the LHC.