Governor calls on army to help end crisis in Punjab.

LAHORE -- Despite the armed forces repeatedly refusing to be pushed into the country's perpetual political quagmire, Punjab Governor Omar Sarfraz Cheema has sought the army's intervention to lead the province out of the crises plaguing it for months. He has also decided to send a reference against Lahore High Court's Justice Jawad Hassan to the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) for an 'illegal decision' of asking the National Assembly speaker to administer the oath to the then chief minister-elect Hamza Shehbaz.

On Thursday, the governor wrote a letter to Chief of Army Staff Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa, requesting him to play a defining role in the current chaotic times, as he was of the opinion that the constitutional crisis-ridden Punjab has been held hostage.

With the letter, the governor also attached the separate letters he wrote to the president and prime minister - the latter sent just before writing to Gen Bajwa. 'Both these letters encompass my real anxiety and dilemmas on the constitutional impasse faced by this country, particularly the province of Punjab,' he wrote.

In his letter to PM Shehbaz Sharif, the Punjab governor accused Hamza of taking advantage of being the son of the premier in getting himself elected as the CM. He accused the Punjab bureaucracy of extending full support during the CM's election on April 16 to ensure Hamza was elected, and also chided the premier for occupying the highest office through an 'unconstitutional exercise'.

Mr Cheema has urged the army chief to help restore the constitutional framework by reposing trust in the people, who are honest, fair and entitled to be trusted in the form of federal and provincial governments of Pakistan.

The governor has already expressed anxiety over his stated stance that the oath administered to Hamza Shehbaz as chief minister, his consequent notification and de-notification of the former chief executive, Usman Buzdar, were illegal.

He alleged that Hamza, using the powers of his father Shehbaz Sharif being the prime minister, had even held Governor House hostage to hold the oath-taking ceremony on April 30. The governor claimed that even he was not allowed to enter the premises that day.

Condemning the supposed desecration of law and the Constitution in a series of tweets, Mr Cheema eventually tweeted, 'If the COAS provides me with one subedar and four army jawans, I will personally get the unconstitutional, illegal and fake chief minister (Hamza Shehbaz) arrested and throw...