Son of Pakistan PM takes oath as chief minister of Punjab province

By Aamir Latif

KARACHI, Pakistan (AA) - Hamza Shehbaz of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) took oath as the new chief minister of Pakistan's largest province of Punjab on Saturday after a long-drawn legal battle.

National Assembly Speaker Raja Pervaiz Ashraf administered the oath to Hamza as the 21st chief minister of the bellwether province at the Governor's House in Lahore, the provincial capital, on the order of the Lahore High Court.

Punjab Governor Umer Sarfraz Cheema, who belongs to the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party of ousted Prime Minister Imran Khan, had repeatedly refused to administer the oath, questioning the validity of Hamza's election.

Hours before the swearing-in ceremony, he ordered reinstatement of former Chief Minister Usman Buzdar, who had tendered his resignation last month amid political turmoil that resulted in a successful no-trust motion against Khan.

Cheema rejected Buzdar's March 28 resignation, terming it "not constitutionally valid." Buzdar immediately summoned a meeting of his defunct Cabinet at the Punjab Assembly.

Hamza, son of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, was elected the chief minister on April 16, securing 197 votes in the 341-seat Punjab Assembly. The PTI and its allies had boycotted the election.

Meanwhile, the Lahore High Court accepted for hearing a PTI's petition challenging the oath of the new provincial chief executive.