Shahbaz says Punjab Assembly won’t be dissolved on March 19

CM Sharif says PML-N demands on the caretaker set-up must be met by the prime minister.

LAHORE:

Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif said on Saturday that the Punjab Assembly would not be dissolved along with the other assemblies unless the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s demands on the caretaker set-up were met by the prime minister.

Following a meeting with Prime Minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf and the three other provincial chief ministers, Shahbaz announced at a news conference that he did not agree to dissolve the Punjab Assembly on March 19. The provincial legislature is scheduled to complete its term on April 9.

However, he added that the premier and the chief ministers, including him, had agreed to hold the upcoming general elections on time.

Shahbaz said he asked the prime minister to appoint a unanimous caretaker prime minister and chief ministers, who enjoyed the nation’s trust. He added that he also expressed concern over the government’s desire to appoint caretaker chief ministers of its own choice in Sindh and Balochistan.

Furthermore, Shahbaz said he has handed a list of demands to the premier. These included asking the government to hold talks with the PML-Functional-led opposition parties for caretaker chief minister in Sindh, instead of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement, which recently joined the opposition in the province – a move that elicited scepticism within the PML-N. The Punjab CM’s second demand was for the government to consult the PML-N and Baloch nationalists for a caretaker chief minister in Balochistan

Shahbaz added that Prime Minister Ashraf had asked him to dissolve the Punjab Assembly with the National Assembly but he in turn requested him to first remove the PML-N’s reservations. The chief minister said he had consulted the senior leadership of his party, as well as party chief Nawaz Sharif, who is currently in Britain, before forwarding the demands to the premier.

Insiders told The Express Tribune in the meanwhile that Prime Minister Ashraf had contacted Shahbaz three times, seeking his nominations for the Sindh and Balochistan caretaker chief ministers. However, Shahbaz said a final decision in this regard would be taken by Nawaz soon.

They said that Nawaz would preside over a party meeting on Sunday (today) where he would hold consultations with PML-F and Balochistan nationalists on the two names. The names would then be forwarded to Leader of the Opposition in NA Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan.

Nisar is meant to hold talks with the prime minister to decide on any one name for the posts of caretaker prime minister and chief ministers with the next three days (March 17 to March 19). The insiders added that if they do agree on one name, the Punjab Assembly would be dissolved or else the matter would be forwarded to a parliamentary committee.

Meanwhile, the PML-N is apparently divided over the Punjab Assembly, with the Nisar-led faction calling for it not to be dissolved, while the Dar-led group is in favour of its dissolution on March 19 along with the three other provincial assemblies.

Dar’s group feels that if the assembly is not dissolved, elections might be delayed.

Punjab caretaker chief minister nominees

Opposition parties in the Punjab Assembly (PA) have finalised the names of a judge and a bureaucrat for the slot of caretaker chief minister of the province.

Former Punjab chief secretary Hafeez Akhtar and former chief justice of the Lahore High Court Syed Zahid Hussain Bukhari have been chosen as the two candidates which opposition will forward to the Punjab chief minister.

The opposition parties in Punjab Assembly (PA) comprise the Pakistan Peoples Party and the PML-Q.

Shahbaz Sharif has already written letter to Raja Riaz for consultations over two names, Justice (retd) Aamir Raza Khan and former federal secretary Khawaja Zaheer.


Published in The Express Tribune, March 17^th, 2013.