President Arif Alvi Monday finally approved the appointment of PML-N loyalist Muhammad Baligh ur Rehman as the Punjab governor after twice rejecting the summary recommending his appointment.
The summary was approved on the advice of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif under Article 101(1) of the Constitution. Earlier, the president had rejected summary saying that Omar Sarfraz Cheema, who was de-notified by the federal government earlier this month, still held the office as he (president) had not approved his removal. On May 21, President Alvi urged Premier Shehbaz to reconsider his advice about the appointment of new governor, as there was no occasion to propose a new appointment.
In response to the summary about appointing a new governor, the president had reiterated that “the Governor shall hold office during the pleasure of the president”, as envisaged by Article 101 (2) of the Constitution. However, the premier asserted that Baligh will be the governor of Punjab, says a news report quoting sources. The premier had maintained that if the president did not respond within 10 days, Rehman will take oath as governor as the summary had been sent to the president for the second time. The Islamabad High Court (IHC) is currently hearing the case on whether the president has powers under the Constitution to overrule the prime minister’s decision to remove a governor. However, this move by the president might make those proceedings redundant.
According to a tweet from the President’s Office, Alvi approved the appointment based on Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s advice in accordance with Article 101 (1) of the Constitution. Later in the evening, Baligh also took oath of his office.
Baligh was elected to the National Assembly in 2013 and has previously served as the federal education minister. His predecessor Omar Sarfraz Cheema, was removed from the office on May 9 despite the president’s resistance. Cheema had been appointed as governor on April 3, days before the PTI government was ousted through a no-confidence vote. During his short time in office, Cheema had repeatedly refused to administer oath to PML-N’s Hamza Shehbaz as the Punjab chief minister. Eventually, PM Shehbaz sent a summary for Cheema’s removal to the president on April 17, while Cheema maintained that the prime minister did not have the authority to dismiss him and only the president could do so.
In that summary, PM Shehbaz had recommended the name of PPP’s Makhdoom Ahmad Mahmood as the Punjab governor. However, when President Alvi returned the summary after holding it for 15 days without a decision, the premier re-endorsed the advice on May 1, asking for Cheema’s removal and appointment of PML-N loyalist from Bahawalpur Baligh ur Rehman, in his place.