LAHORE, Aug 5: Chaudhry Mohammad Sarwar was sworn in as the 35th governor of Punjab at an impressive ceremony here on Monday.

Lahore High Court Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial administered the oath to Mr Sarwar at the ceremony attended among others by Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, Punjab Assembly Speaker Rana Mohammad Iqbal and diplomats.

Talking to reporters after the ceremony, Mr Sarwar said health and education would be priority areas of his work as governor.

A former member of the British parliament, Mr Sarwar said one million children would be enrolled in schools each year.

He said an education emergency should be imposed in the country to raise literacy level which he believed would help fight poverty.

The new governer said poor law and order situation was responsible for lack of foreign investment.

He vowed to use his influence at the international level to improve the country’s image and attract investors.

He promised to take all political parties along while working as governor.

Mr Sarwar hosted an Iftar dinner for the elite and media personnel.

There were unending queues of luxury vehicles on both sides of The Mall and Sharah Aiwan-i-Tijarat to enter the Governor’s House, creating traffic jam at the intersection.

Most of the guests were industrial and business tycoons, a good chunk of them from Faisalabad, the native town of Mr Sarwar.