Caretaker CMs yet not finalised in Sindh, KP, Balochistan

KARACHI: Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assemblies dissolved after completion of their full term, while the National Assembly, and the provincial assemblies of Punjab and Balochistan are to complete their terms on May 31. 

The government and opposition have already picked caretaker prime minister, while the interim chief minister who will head caretaker set-up in Punjab has also been named. However, the government and opposition in the rest provinces of the country are yet to reach consensus over names for caretaker CMs.

A day earlier, PTI chief Imran Khan rejected businessman Manzoor Afridi’s candidature for the office of caretaker chief minister KP after the allegations that his nomination was a result of a covert deal between Chief Minister Pervez Khattak and leader of the opposition Maulana Lutfur Rehman.

After the withdrawal of Afridi’s nomination, the two leaders are back to square one, holding consultations to pick a consensus person for the position.

The opposition leader has reportedly refused to withdraw Afridi’s nomination, resulting in a deadlock.

A PTI leader confirmed that there is a deadlock between the two sides, and if it persists, the matter is likely to be referred to a parliamentary panel today.

On Saturday, Afridi was named to head the caretaker set-up in the province. Hours before an official announcement in this regard, his candidacy was withdrawn following criticism.

Manzoor Afridi is the younger brother of Ayub Afridi, who was recently elected as member of the Senate on PTI ticket. He hails from Khyber Agency in Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) and is a little known figure in political circles.

Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah and Leader of the Opposition Khawaja Izhar-ul-Hassan exchanged the names for caretaker chief minister yesterday.

They are expected to meet for another round of talks to finalize a name for the position.

The government has reportedly proposed the names of former chief secretary Ghulam Ali Pasha,  Dr Qayyum Soomro and Engineer Hameer Soomro.

Whereas, the opposition leader has mooted former chief secretary Fazal-ur-Rehman, former senator Javed Jabbar, and former Sindh government adviser on home affairs Aftab Sheikh for the office of the caretaker chief minister.

The PTI and PML-F have proposed the names of retired Justice Amir Hani Muslim and former Chief Minister Ghaus Ali Shah, respectively.

The deadlock also persists in Balochistan between the government and opposition over caretaker chief minister. So far, three rounds of talks have been held but remained inconclusive.

The government has nominated Prince Ahmed Ali Ahmedzai, Alaudin Marri and Kamran Murtaza, whereas the opposition has floated the names of former speaker of Balochistan Assembly Aslam Bhootani and former ambassador Ashraf Jahangir Qazi.