File photo of Maryam Nawaz.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz has once again landed in trouble, as the Session Court has been moved against her for donning a police uniform while attending a passing-out parade on April 25, according to ARY News.

In his plea, the plaintiff claimed that Ms. Nawaz’s wearing of a police official’s uniform was “unlawful.” The plea stated that no one is permitted to wear the official state institution outfit. The petitioner said that despite Ms. Nawaz’s plea to the police, no action was taken against her.

The petitioner begged the judge to provide instructions to file a complaint against Ms. Nawaz, the Chief Minister of Punjab. The case’s hearing was postponed by the Court until April 29, as per ARY News.

Wearing the uniform, Punjab Chief Minister (CM) MS. Nawaz, notably participated in a police passing-out parade in Lahore. The Chief Minister of Punjab bestowed a guard of honour and presented awards to the Police Training College’s outstanding achievers, reported ARY News.

Notably, Ms. Nawaz, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) nominee, had made history by becoming Punjab’s first female Chief Minister. She secured 220 votes in the election, triumphing over her opponent, Rana Aftab Ahmad of the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC), who received zero votes due to a boycott by SIC members.

The Punjab Assembly session, presided over by newly-elected Speaker Malik Ahmad Khan, witnessed opposition members from the Sunni Ittehad Council boycotting the proceedings. Speaker Mr. Khan declared that only elections for the Chief Minister would take place, and no lawmakers were permitted to speak during the session, according to ARY News.

Maryam Nawaz.
| Photo Credit: AP

“The selection of Maryam Nawaz as the Chief Minister of the Punjab province is a milestone in Pakistani politics,” the U.S. has said, asserting that it looks forward to cooperating with Islamabad on integrating women more fully into the country’s political life.

Maryam, the 50-year-old daughter of three-time former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, took oath as the first-ever woman Chief Minister of Pakistan’s most populous and politically crucial Punjab province last week.

“Her [Maryam Nawaz Sharif] selection as Chief Minister is a milestone in Pakistani politics,” State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller told reporters at his daily news conference on March 4.

Maryam is considered the political heir to 74-year-old Nawaz Sharif, the three-time former Prime Minister.

“We look forward to cooperating with Pakistan more broadly on integrating women more fully into the country’s political life, in the economy, including through the U.S.-Pakistan Women’s Council, civil society, and other decision-making spaces,” he said.

“An inclusive Pakistan makes for a strong, prosperous country which all Pakistanis benefit from, and so we are always pleased when we see cracks in the glass ceiling anywhere in the world,” Mr. Miller said in response to a question.

However, he refrained from commenting on the election of the new Prime Minister, Shehbaz Sharif.

On Monday, Shehbaz (72) assumed the cash-strapped country’s reins for a second time, nearly a month after an inconclusive election marred by allegations of vote rigging.

“I’m not going to speak with respect to the new Prime Minister, but as we’ve said before, we value our longstanding partnership with Pakistan and have always viewed a strong, prosperous, and democratic Pakistan as critical to U.S.-Pakistan interests, and our engagement with new Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and his government will continue to focus on advancing these shared interests,” Mr. Miller said.

Maryam Nawaz Sharif, the 50-year-old senior vice president of the PML-N, is set to become the first woman Chief Minister of Punjab province. File
| Photo Credit: PTI

Senior PML-N leader Maryam Nawaz, the daughter of three-time former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, on February 25 submitted her nomination papers for the post of Chief Minister of Pakistan’s politically crucial Punjab province.

“The nomination papers of Maryam Nawaz Sharif for the Chief Minister of Punjab have been submitted,” the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) said in a post on X.

Ms. Maryam, the 50-year-old senior vice president of the PML-N, is set to become the first woman Chief Minister of Punjab province, a province of over 120 million people, as she enjoys the support of the majority in the house.

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She has already been given security usually provided to the Chief Minister and she is holding meetings with the top bureaucracy of the province.

She is considered to be the political heir of PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif, who surprisingly nominated his younger brother Shehbaz Sharif as his party’s prime ministerial candidate.

“The election of Chief Minister Punjab will take place on Monday (tomorrow). The candidates of CM can submit nomination papers on Sunday (today),” Punjab Assembly Secretary Amer Habib said in a statement on February 25.

Meanwhile, the PML-N clinched both Speaker and Deputy Speaker offices in the Punjab Assembly.

In a marathon session of the Punjab Assembly on February 24, the lawmakers elected PML-N leader Malik Ahmad Khan as the custodian of the house and Zaheer Iqbal Channar as his deputy.

The election for the Chief Minister office will be held between Ms. Maryam and Rana Aftab Ahmad of Imran Khan’s PTI-backed Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) nominee.

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The PML-N won 137 seats while independents backed by former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) won 113 in the Punjab Assembly. Separately, 20-odd independents, not PTI-backed, have already joined the PML-N.

The PTI-backed independent candidates have joined the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) to get reserved seats for women and minorities besides saving their elected members from being forced to change their loyalty by the military establishment.

However, the SIC may not get reserved seats for women and minorities, leaving the PML-N with a simple majority in Punjab.