Zubair Qureshi
Chief Justice of the Islamabad High Court Athar Minallah has fixed former Governor Punjab Omar Sarfraz Cheema’s petition against his removal for Friday (today). The CJ will hear the plea that has been objected by the registrar’s office on the ground that the petition did not fall under IHC jurisdiction.
The Registrar’s office has raised the objection on the petition filed by Omar Sarfaraz Cheema against his removal from the office of the Punjab governor.
Assistant Registrar Asad Khan objected to the application filed by the ex-governor that the matter belonged to Punjab and did not fall under the jurisdiction of the IHC. The Lahore High Court (LHC) is an appropriate forum for him to seek relief in that regard.
“This petition is not admissible against the two parties concerned,” the assistant registrar added. However, despite objections, the IHC has fixed the plea for hearing for today.
Earlier, the former governor had approached the high court against his removal.
Cheema, while filing a petition in the IHC through his lawyer Babar Awan, had submitted in his petition that according to the Constitution, the governor served as an agent or representative of the president in the province and is not part of the executive.
“With the consent of the President, I could remain in office but Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has illegally removed me from office to benefit his son Hamza,” he stated.
The former governor in his petition stated that the notification to remove him from office was unconstitutional.
“Removing me from office has created a constitutional crisis in the country’s largest province, the province has been running without a cabinet for two months now,” he lamented.
He furthered that action should be ordered against the Cabinet Division official who issued or directed his removal, declaring the notification illegal.
Cheema has pleaded with the court to declare his removal illegal and restore him as Punjab governor by declaring Cabinet Division notification null and void. The federal government on May 10 had de-notified Omar Sarfraz as Punjab governor.
According to a notification issued by the Cabinet Division, Omar Sarfraz Cheema was removed from his office after the President refused to remove Cheema.
