Names emerge for slot of caretaker Punjab CM

LAHORE: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has started consultation on the names for the slot of caretaker Punjab chief minister, it emerged Sunday.

According to sources, the PTI is considering the names of Dr Salman Shah, Pervaiz Hassan and Shoaib Suddle for the coveted post.

On the other hand, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) is considering names of Azam Suleman and Nasir Khosa –both former chief secretaries – for the slot of Punjab CMship.

According to the notification issued by the Punjab governor, the caretaker CM would be appointed by the governor in consultation with the Punjab Chief Minister Parvez Elahi and Leader of the Opposition in the PA Hamza Shahbaz.

The governor called on them to provide the names of their nominees for the position by 10:10pm on January 17 (Tuesday).

Earlier in the day, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Fawad Chaudhry said that outgoing Punjab Chief Minister Pervaiz Elahi will meet with former PM Imran Khan today to consult nominees for interim Punjab CM.

Taking to Twitter, Fawad Chaudhry said that under Article 224-A, both the CM and the leader of the opposition should agree on an interim Punjab CM name with consensus.

“If the two leaders fail to reach an agreement, then two proposed names from each side will be sent to a parliamentary committee,” he added.

He added that if the parliamentary committee also fails to agree on a name then the names will be sent to the Election Commission of Pakistan, which will nominate one of these names as the chief minister.

“The ECP does not have the authority to name someone out of the list given,” he added.

The Punjab Assembly stood dissolved constitutionally on Saturday as Punjab Governor Baligh ur Rehman excused himself from signing the summary, saying he could not become a part of the process.

Taking to Twitter, Governor Punjab wrote: “I have decided not to become part of the process leading to the dissolution of Punjab Assembly.”