LAHORE: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) is set to nominate the caretaker chief minister Punjab as the parliamentary committee comprising three members each from both the PTI-PML-Q and opposition failed to reach a consensus on the name of interim CM.

The government side comprising PTI and PML-Q proposed the names of Sardar Ahmad Nawaz Sukhera and Naveed Akram Cheema while the opposition proposed Syed Mohsin Raza Naqvi and Ahad Khan Cheema for the CM slot.

The parliamentary committee comprising Muhammad Basharat Raja, Mian Aslam Iqbal and Hashim Jawan Bakht and from opposition side comprising Malik Ahmed Khan, Hasan Murtaza and Malik Nadeem Kamran met here at the Punjab Assembly but failed to reach a consensus on a single name.

Appointment of Punjab caretaker CM: Parliamentary committee notified

Talking to the media after the meeting, PTI leader Raja Basharat said that the ECP will decide on the name of caretaker Punjab CM. He said the names given by their side were much better than those proposed by the opposition. He claimed that both the names given by the opposition were not suitable considering the people’s opinion. He said that the opposition should not have given the names of the people who have criminal records.

He said the decisions should be made that are acceptable to the masses. He made it clear they will approach the judiciary if any controversial figure is chosen to become the caretaker CM.

PML-N leader Malik Ahmad Khan told media that it was unfortunate that the decision could not be taken at the political level, as the parliamentary party session ended in a stalemate. He said they were hoping to resolve the issue on political level but the government proposed controversial personalities. The name of the officer of Federal Public Commission is also controversial as it is clear in the constitution, he added.

To a query, he said cases were made against Ahad Cheema by NAB during Imran Khan’s rule. “Did Ahad Cheema not build the Metro? Did he not complete the task of Orange Line and power plants,” he questioned. He said the name of Mohsin Raza Naqvi was rejected due to personal preference or dislike.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2023