Announcing a short order against the petition regarding the delay in Hamza Shehbaz’s oath-taking as Punjab chief minister, the Lahore High Court (LHC) remarked that Punjab Governor Umer Sarfraz Cheema could not step back from administering the oath to the CM-elect, Aaj News reported on Friday.

The court in his verdict directed President Arif Alvi to nominate a representative for administering oath to the CM-elect.

During today’s hearing, the Punjab advocate general told the court that the governor would write a letter to President Dr Arif Alvi about the reasons for not administering the oath.

“The Punjab governor has taken an oath and he has to abide by the Constitution,” the advocate general added.

It may be recalled that Punjab Assembly on April 16 had elected Hamza Shehbaz as the new chief minister after a violent session that went on for over six hours.

Cheema, in a press conference on April 17, condemned the violence that took place in the Punjab Assembly and said that such incidents set a very wrong precedent.

“I have written to the Punjab advocate general and the Punjab Assembly speaker to seek their opinion on the assembly secretary’s report, LHC directions and other facts to make up my mind whether to hold the oath-taking ceremony at the Governor House or not,” he had said.