Oath-taking at last!

Hamza Shehbaz was finally sworn in as Punjab chief minister yesterday after a prolonged litigation-cum-constitutional hiatus. It was a day of high drama with both sides citing constitutional provisions to further their stance. In a defiant rejoinder to the LHC’s decision to swear in Hamza as Punjab’s chief executive, the Governor restored the ‘resigned’ chief minister Usman Buzdar and his cabinet on the flimsy context that his erstwhile resignation was unqualified as per law. The PTI-PMLQ combine also moved the court on Saturday morning with an intra-court appeal against an overnight judgment directing the Speaker National Assembly to administer oath to Hamza. The petition is now on record and sent to the LHC Chief Justice for further hearing, as minute detailing has been sought. Thus standoff was in vogue till noon with Governor House becoming the theatre of administrative muscle-flexing.

Punjab has been in a perpetual constitutional deadlock for almost a month. The PML-N had sought court’s intervention to facilitate Hamza’s oath, which is contested on the grounds that his election was ultra vires and was marred with pandemonium and in violation of the laid-down procedural norms. Though Hamza’s swearing in seemed fait accompli after the court’s order, the extra-legality maneuvering of Speaker-cum-ex-CM duo on lacunas of law had literally landed the province in a severe administrative void.

The LHC’s third consecutive directive on Friday had finally laid a roadmap by asking the NA Speaker to administer oath after weeks of stalemate and non-compliance. The court believes it has enough reasons to intervene under Article 199(1)(C) which empowers the judiciary to enforce fundamental rights. On the other hand, PTI and PML-Q continue to assert that their numerical strength was duped, and the election of the chief executive is a farce. They maintain that the moment the court decides the fate of defectors, Hamza will stand to lose the confidence of the house. At least 26 MPAs had crossed the floor to vote for the PDM candidate. This de jure puzzle needs to be resolved, and the earlier it is done amicably, the better. The country has been in a fix for many weeks and creeping into instability. Putting Punjab back in order is sine qua non.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 1^st, 2022.

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