ISLAMABAD/LAHORE: The federal government Sunday appointed a Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) stalwart as governor of Punjab hours after it removed Chaudhry Mohammad Sarwar from the post.
Omar Sarfraz Cheema is one of the pioneer members of the PTI as he had joined the party in April 1996 and served as the party’s central information secretary for five years as well as chairman’s spokesperson for a brief stint in 2015.
The decision to remove Sarwar was announced by Minister for Information Fawad Chaudhry who did not offer any reason as to why he was removed hours before the crucial vote of no-confidence against the prime minister.
وفاقی حکومت نے گورنر پنجاب چوہدری محمد سرور کو ان کے عہدے سے برطرف کر دیا ہے، نئے گورنر پنجاب کا اعلان بعد میں کیا جائیگا، آئین کے مطابق ڈپٹی اسپیکر قائم مقام گورنر ہوں گے
— Ch Fawad Hussain (@fawadchaudhry) April 3, 2022
Chaudhry said a new governor would be announced later. In the meantime, “the deputy speaker [of the Punjab Assembly] will be the acting governor according to the Constitution,” he tweeted.
A two-term Labour MP in the United Kingdom, Sarwar ditched his British passport in 2013 to become governor of Punjab after joining Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) but left the job in 2015 to join the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party. He returned to the office for a second time in 2018 after the ruling party won the general elections.
SARWAR CENSURES OWN PARTY
Meanwhile, addressing a press conference after his sacking, Sarwar lambasted the leadership of his own party.
He said if there is an international conspiracy against the government then it was electing Usman Buzdar as the chief minister of Punjab.
Despite having several prominent candidates, including Fawad Chaudhry, Imran Khan decided to pick Buzdar to lead the province, as if only he could move Punjab towards the goal of Naya Pakistan, he said.
Sarwar said keeping aside everyone’s reservations, he vowed to stand behind the prime minister. “On the one hand, there was the prime minister and on the other, it was the entire PTI.”
“Bribery has reached the grassroots levels, but we vowed to stand with Imran Khan.”
