Pakistan: Punjab's Governor to take legal action against LHC Justice Jawad Hassan over Hamza's oath

Pakistan's Punjab Governor Omar Sarfraz Cheema on Thursday decided to send a reference against Lahore High Court's Justice Jawad Hassan's decision to the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) of directing the National Assembly Speaker to administer the oath to Chief minister Hamza Shehbaz.

Pakistan's Punjab Governor Omar Sarfraz Cheema on Thursday decided to send a reference against Lahore High Court's Justice Jawad Hassan's decision to the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) of directing the National Assembly Speaker to administer the oath to Chief minister Hamza Shehbaz. The SJC is a specialised forum created under Article 209 of the Constitution specifically for determining complaints of misconduct received against judges, Dawn reported.

Addressing a press conference in Lahore, Cheema said that he had decided to take legal action against the judge after consultations with professionals over the last two days. He also termed the LHC Judge's verdict "illegal" and said that according to the honeycomb principle, no institution could "interfere" in the working of another institution.

Punjab's Governor said that he had requested the President and Army Chief to discuss the situation in the province with him, reported Dawn. He also advised Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to make his son aware of how to contest the election in a constitutional way, stressing that he would administer the oath himself if Hamza did that.

The crisis in the province began when Governor Cheema refused to administer the oath to Chief Minister-elect Hamza on April 17, a day after the Hamza was elected as Chief Minister in a stormy session of the Punjab Assembly. Cheema citing the Assembly secretary's report, Lahore High Court's (LHC) instructions and facts presented to him raised objections to the validity of the election.

Earlier, Governor Cheema asserted that if Army Chief General provided him with one Subedar and four jawans then he would have arrested new Chief Minister Hamza Shehbaz, whom he termed 'unconstitutional', as reported by Dawn. In a series of morning tweets, Cheema said, "Political parties have always demanded the [army's] 111 Brigade in the past. I have asked at least provide me with four jawans and one subedar."

Punjab's Governor Cheema said that the province is facing a constitutional and legal crisis which had been taken hostage by force and termed the political parties' silence as "very concerning". He also said that if everyone had accepted the Hamza Shehbaz 'formula' for becoming the chief minister in Punjab, the other provinces should start worrying for themselves.

Cheema said that he had always demanded a "neutral umpire" in his 26-year-political career. He further elaborated that a "neutral umpire" maintained the same rules for both sides, otherwise, he could not have been called "neutral" and the game would not be fair, according to Dawn. "I have clarified in my statement what kind of intervention I expect and what is needed. I would have appealed to the public if I wasn't the governor," he tweeted. (ANI)

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