Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: Soon after the Supreme Court disqualified the sitting prime minister in Panama Papers case and ordered the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to de-notify him as member of the National Assembly, a consultative session chaired by Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo Nawaz Sharif was held at the PM House to mull over names for the new Leader of the House. Sources privy to the development told Daily Times that ousted prime minister’s younger brother and chief minister of the Punjab province has emerged as the strongest candidate for the coveted post. “Nawaz Sharif wants his younger brother to succeed him,” a party official said. Since Shahbaz Sharif is currently a member of the provincial assembly, it is mandatory for him to step down and get elected to the National Assembly through by-elections to eventually become the prime minister of the country. Sources said the PML-N is considering appointing an interim prime minister for a few weeks until Shahbaz Sharif is able to take over. Some of the meeting participants, however, voiced concerns over pulling out Shahbaz Sharif from Punjab as, according to them, it will be difficult to find a replacement of his stature in the party’s power base.

The names of Hamza Shahbaz and Rana Sanaullah are being touted as top contenders for the post of Punjab chief minister in case Shahbaz is elevated to the PM House.

The name of Kalsoom Nawaz is also making rounds for the post of the prime minister. However, parliamentary party of the PML-N will make a final decision in this regard at a meeting scheduled for today. If the party approves, Kulsoom Nawaz will be elected on a reserved seat for women and then chosen as the next prime minister of the country.

The favourite candidates for the interim prime minister are National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq and Shahid Khaqan Abbasi. Earlier, names of Khawaja Asif and Ahsan Iqbal were also being taken for the slot but were dropped after their iqamas (residence permits) of Saudi Arabia and UAE surfaced on the social media.

As far as Ayaz Sadiq is concerned, it will not be feasible for the PML-N to elevate him to the PM’s slot just for an interim period. Since the PML-N will have to get elected a new speaker in place of Ayaz Sadiq prior to voting for the new prime minister, the party will most likely consider the other options to avoid ‘double election’.

Published in Daily Times, July 29^th , 2017.