Cabinet appoints Baligh as Punjab governor

Ministers approve circular summary submitted by Cabinet Division

ISLAMABAD:

The ongoing political logjam over the appointment of Punjab governor was set to intensify, as the federal cabinet approved on Monday the appointment of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s (PML-N) Balighur Rehman as the new governor.

Rehman’s appointment with immediate effect was approved after a summary for the approval was circulated among the ministers, sources said, adding that the required number of ministers for passing the summary has given their consent.

“The Cabinet considered the summary dated 23rd May, 2022 submitted by the Cabinet Division, which was circulated in terms of rule 17(1)(b) read with rule 19(1) of the Rules of Business, 1973 for ‘Appointment of Governor of the Punjab’ and approved the appointment of Mr. Baligh Ur Rehman as Governor of the Punjab, with immediate effect,” read a notification of the cabinet’s decision.

Earlier, the federal government had nominated Rehman as the new governor of Punjab and the summary to replace Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) Omar Sarfaraz Cheema was sent to President Arif Alvi. However, the president had turned down the summary.

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The PML-N-led coalition government had approached the president twice for Cheema’s removal but Alvi not only turned down the summary on both occasions but instructed Cheema to continue holding office until a decision was taken on the summary seeking his removal.

Rehman’s appointment is seen as crucial for Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif-led government as Cheema has constantly been giving tough time to the Centre, since the election of Chief Minister Hamza Shehbaz.

Punjab has been mired in a constitutional crisis since former chief minister Usman Buzdar tendered his resignation to pave the way for Punjab Assembly’s Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi to become the new chief minister.

However, the chain of events before and after the successful execution of no-confidence motion against Imran Khan at the Centre and PTI’s 25 dissident members’ support for the PML-N’s Hamza Shehbaz in Punjab changed the scenario.

A torrent of constitutional and administrative issues has been marring the province for the last couple of months, especially, after the dissident members voted for Hamza and then Cheema refused to administer the oath to the new chief minister.

Upon his refusal, Hamza was finally sworn in after the Lahore High Court (LHC) ordered National Assembly Speaker Raja Pervaiz Ashraf to administer the oath to Hamza.

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Things, however, didn’t stop there and the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) recently de-seated the 25 dissident MPAs of the PTI, who had voted for Hamza in the election of the chief minister, stating that they had defected from the party.

Since then the number game in Punjab assembly has come in a renewed focus and the ruling PML-N fears that Cheema’s presence as the governor might trigger yet another crisis, especially, if he orders Hamza to take a vote of confidence from the assembly.

Also, the PML-N and the federal government feel that a smooth functioning of the provincial government would only be possible when they have their own men at the top slots in the province – Hamza and Rehman.

Since both the PTI and the PML-N do not have the required number of MPAs – 186 – to claim the chief minister’s slot after ECP de-seated 25 PTI MPAs, the province may witness another voting for the chief minister in the coming days.

The PML-N has an edge over PTI in the Punjab Assembly but the PTI and provincial Speaker Pervaiz Elahi’s claims that things would turn in their favour on the day of the voting had kept the suspense intact. Speculations that dissident PML-N MPAs could resign to support Elahi have also been making rounds.

In this scenario, the appointment of Rehman is considered crucial for the ruling alliance as it wishes to settle the dust once and all and that could only happen when its men are at the key positions in Punjab.