Interim set-up: Nasir Khosa named Punjab caretaker CM

Stalemate persists in Sindh, Balochistan and K-P

LAHORE/KARACHI: Punjab’s former chief secretary Nasir Mehmood Khan Khosa was named on Monday as the province’s caretaker chief minister.

The decision was announced after a meeting between Punjab Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Leader of Opposition in Punjab Assembly Mian Mehmoodur Rasheed.

Khosa, who is a retired bureaucrat, is said to possess a vast administrative experience. He has severed as chief secretary in Balochistan before working as executive director at the World Bank.

Shehbaz expressed the hope that Khosa would hold transparent and fair election in the province, providing a level-playing field to all political parties.

Rasheed maintained that the Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf (PTI) had nominated Khosa for the post of the province’s caretaker chief minister.

Khosa also served in various capacities in the Punjab, including principal secretary to former governor Khalid Maqbool, additional secretary of the province’s finance department, commissioner of the Multan division and deputy commissioner, Lahore.

Glad to announce that Leader of the opposition Punjab and I have agreed on the name of Nasir Saeed Khosa as caretaker Chief Minister Punjab for interim setup. Another step towards strengthening democratic process. pic.twitter.com/FVfU5Edqgk

— Shehbaz Sharif (@CMShehbaz) May 28, 2018

Meanwhile, stalemate over the selection of caretaker chief minister in Sindh persisted after the talks between Chief Minister Sindh Murad Ali Shah and Leader of Opposition in Sindh Assembly Khawaja Izharul Hassan remained inconclusive.

Various names were discussed in the meeting held in the Sindh Assembly.

After consulting with the leaders of the PTI and the Pakistan Muslim League-Functional (PML-F), Khawaja Izharul proposed the names of former home adviser Aftab Shaikh, former chief secretary Sindh Fazlur Rehman, former federal information minister Javed Jabbar and former chief minister Ghous Ali Shah to head the caretaker government in Sindh.

Meanwhile, the Sindh government presented the names of Justice (retd) Ghulam Sarwar Korai, Engineer Hamir Soomro, Dr Younus Soormo, former chief secretary Ghulam Ali Pasha and former PPP Senator Dr Qayoom Soormo to serve as caretaker CM.

Sources privy to the development told this correspondent that Justice (retd) Korai was among the strongest candidates. However, the leader of the opposition sought more time to consult with other political parties.

The PTI nominated Fazlur Rehman and Justice (retd) Amir Hani Muslim while the PML-F suggested Ghous Ali Shah as caretaker chief minister.

The sources said that the CM and the leader of opposition in Sindh Assembly would again meet today (Tuesday) to finalise the caretaker set-up.

The incumbent chief minister is likely to continue on his post until the appointment of a caretaker chief minister.

Later, Khawaja Izhar spoke to media persons and said: “We want to resolve this issue just like it has been resolved by the federal government. In the absence of a consensus, the matter will be referred to the parliamentary committee of the Sindh Assembly,” he said.

Meanwhile, there was no consensus on the name of caretaker CM in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. (With additional inputs from APP)