ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman and former Prime Minister Imran Khan on Tuesday urged the Supreme Court of Pakistan to take notice of what he dubbed as “blatant violation of the Constitution and the law in Punjab by the federal government” which issued notification of Omar Sarfraz Cheema’s removal as governor of the province late night.

In a statement, he demanded the apex court to take immediate notice of the matter.

This demand from Imran Khan comes after the federal government issued the notification in the early hours of Tuesday, on the heels of rejection of a summary by President Dr Arif Alvi calling for Cheema’s removal from the governor’s office.

Imran Khan alleged: “Imported puppets are stirring up constitutional anarchy and chaos in Punjab...first, a criminal puppet was imposed on the province as a chief minister through a ghost election. Now, keeping all constitutional requirements aside, the office of the president has been insulted.”

Khan condemned what he termed as an embarrassing attempt to remove the Punjab governor “because of his insistence on protecting the Constitution”. He said as “blatant violation” of the constitution in Punjab was being watched in silence, therefore, the Supreme Court must take suo motu notice of the situation.

Meanwhile, Cheema refused to step down from the office despite his removal by the federal government through a notification by the Cabinet Division a day earlier.

He said that the summary for his removal sent by the prime minister to President was rejected due to exceptional circumstances but the Cabinet Division still issued the notification for his removal.

He termed the notification unconstitutional and said that he would consult constitutional experts and announce his strategy.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2022