Daily Times

LAHORE: Only nine days remain for the conlusion of five years’ term of the present government in Punjab and to put in place, the caretaker setup will being so now both the chief minister and the Opposition Leader have agreed to end deadlock on the name of next interim CM within couple of days.

According to sources, Punjab Chief Minister and President of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz Shahbaz Sharif and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) backed Opposition Leader in the Punjab Assembly Mian Mahmoodur Rasheed would hold a meeting to finalise the name of the caretaker chief executive of the province.

The sources confirmed this scribe that initially as many as eight names are being considered from both sides—the government and the opposition—including Kamran Rasool, Salman Ghani, Salman Shah, Tariq Khosa, Khizar Hayat Gondal, Shahid Hafiz Kardar, Mian Allah Nawaz and Dr Safdar Mahmood.

Pertinent to mention that Mian Mahmoodur Rasheed who was also being considered in the race of the interim chief ministership as Pakistan Peoples’ Party was also agreed with his name has already excused for this post by the reason of his personal reasons.

It is worth mentioning that mostly the names under consideration for the slot of interim chief minister are retired bureaucrats including Kamran Rasool, a former chief secretary Punjab from 2003 to 2005, Tariq Masood Khosa, former director general of Federal Investigation Agency in 2009, Khizar Hayat Gondal, former chief secretary Punjab from 2015 to 2016, while an economist, a former judge and a banker’s names are also included in the consideration list. Salman Shah is a former caretaker finance minister and has good name among the power corridors as well as Shahid Kardar is well known and well connected former Governor of State Bank of Pakistan. Justice (r) Mian Allah Nawaz is former Chief Justice of Lahore High Court while Salman Ghani is a media person.

It is worthy to mention that initially, Punjab CM Shehbaz Sharif had appointed his government’s law minister Rana Sanaullah to hold meeting with the opposition leader to get the name of the interim setup but Mahmoodur Rasheed denied to meet him having a stance that constitutionally, he would only discuss the name of next interim setup with Punjab chief minister.

Due to such hard but constitutional stance of the Opposition leader in the House, a dead lock was created on the finalisation of the next interim chief minister between the government and the opposition but now, seeing the situation, Sharif has noded to hold a meeting with him directly which is hopefully being held within next one or two days, the sources said.

Published in Daily Times, May 22^nd 2018.