The approval was given by the president on the advice of the prime minister under Article 101 (1) of the Constitution, said a tweet from the official account of the president of Pakistan.

The approval ends a weeks-long impasse between the president and prime minister over the Punjab governor. President Alvi had twice denied signing off the PM’s nominee, saying that Omar Sarfraz Cheema held the job.

Cheema was installed as governor by the PTI after removing Chaudhry Sarwar ahead of a no-confidence vote in the Punjab Assembly.

Cheema refused to administer oath to PML-N’s Hamza Shehbaz as Punjab chief minister, following which the government de-notified him as Punjab governor.

However, the president didn’t sign off on the new appointees citing that Cheema was still governor as he hadn’t okayed his removal.

The Islamabad High Court is currently hearing the case on whether the Constitution empowers the president to overrule the prime minister’s decision regarding removal of a governor. In light of the latest deveolopment, those proceedings might become moot.

Balighur Rehman was elected to the National Assembly in 2013 and has previously served as the federal education minister.