President Arif Alvi has requested Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to reconsider his advice to the former on the nomination of a new Punjab governor, claiming that Omar Cheema, who was ousted from the role on May 9, remains in office and that “there is no cause to propose a new appointment.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to a statement issued by the President’s Secretariat on Saturday, Alvi referred to an earlier communication to the Prime Minister, dated May 9, in which he rejected the PM’s advice to remove Cheema from office, citing Article 101 (2) of the Constitution, which states that “the Governor shall hold office during the pleasure of the President.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Cheema, on the other hand, was dismissed hours later, with the Cabinet Division sending a late-night notification to the president indicating that he had ceased to hold office on the suggestion of the prime minister on two occasions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The president restated this view in today’s statement, saying that “the current circumstances dictated that the incumbent governor continue to retain that role.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n