The Lahore High Court (LHC) ordered Punjab Governor Omar Sarfaraz Cheema to swear in Hamza Shehbaz as chief minister of the province by Thursday (tomorrow).

In its verdict on a petition filed by Hamza, LHC Chief Justice Ameer Bhatti directed the governor to administer the oath to the newly-elected CM, or appoint an official to complete the task. During the hearing, the court said the province was being run without a chief minister for 25 days, and delays in administering the oath to the CM-elect was against the constitution.

The chief justice also directed the concerned officials to immediately fax the court's order to the president and governor.

Earlier, the LHC chief justice had reserved his verdict in a petition filed by Hamza seeking implementation of a court order asking President Dr Arif Alvi to appoint someone to swear him in as CM.

LHC reserves verdict on CM-elect Hamza’s plea

The court was told that governor Cheema's reluctance to swear Hamza in stemmed from his belief that Hamza's election as chief minister was not conducted in accordance with the law, and that Cheema had brought the situation into the notice of the president.

PML-N's Hamza Shehbaz elected Punjab chief minister

The LHC chief justice said the president should take notice of the seriousness of the situation, adding that the election was held under the directions of the court and the deputy speaker had conducted due process.