'Khosa excuses to be Caretaker Chief Minister of Punjab'

LAHORE: Former chief secretary of Punjab Nasir Saeed Khosa has excused to accept the office of the Caretaker Chief Minister of Punjab, sources said.

According to sources, Mr. Khosa was not consulted before his name was recommended for the top slot of the interim setup in Punjab.

Leader of the Opposition in the Punjab Assembly Mian Mehmoodur Rashid said the party is taking back its decision to install Mr. Khosa as caretaker chief minister owing to public backlash.

He said a new name for the position will be made public soon after consultation with party leaders.

The opposition leader said the decision to withdraw Mr. Khosa’s name was taken after taking into consideration public backlash and voices of disagreement within the party.

Mian Mahmoodur Rasheed and Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif had recently agreed over the name of Nasir Saeed Khosa as the caretaker chief minister of the province.

PTI’s central information secretary Fawad Chaudhry in a video message on Wednesday said “Mr Khosa’s name has been withdrawn following backlash on social media, public media and within the party.”

Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif expressed his surprise over the PTI’s change of heart, saying Mr Khosa’s name had been given by the opposition and finalised after a thorough consultation. “It is beyond one’s comprehension why PTI withdrew the name of its own nominee after finalisation of the process,” he wondered.

He said the issue of caretaker chief minister stood settled as a summary in this regard had already been sent to the Punjab governor that could not be legally withdrawn.

Previously PTI chairman Imran Khan had also rejected the decided nomination of Manzoor Afridi for caretaker chief minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

The PTI took two days to withdraw its decision of nominating Nasir Saeed Khosa, who had served as federal finance secretary and Punjab chief secretary under Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif from 2010 to 2013.