PTI left red-faced as new nominee excuses himself

Nasir Mahmood Khosa also withdraws his name; sources say matter likely to land in ECP

ISLAMABAD/ LAHORE: After withdrawing its own proposed name for the slot of Punjab caretaker setup, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) faced another embarrassment on Thursday when one of its two fresh nominees recused himself to take up the job even before his name come up for official consideration.

Citing ‘immense’ public reaction, the PTI on Wednesday announced to withdraw Nasir Mahmood Khosa’s name for the slot of Punjab caretaker CM – a move criticised by political opponents and rejected by the Punjab government as unconstitutional.

The party on Thursday proposed names of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa former inspector general police (IGP) Nasir Durrani and defence analyst Dr Hasan Askari Rizvi for the interim slot as fresh nominations.

But to the PTI’s utter embarrassment Durrani announced to withdraw from the race citing his ‘unstable health condition’. The development suggests that the PTI had not consulted Durrani before finalising his name for the position.



Durrani confirmed that he has refused his nomination for the caretaker setup. “Yes, I have conveyed this to the leadership of both the parties,” the former IG told The Express Tribune in a text message.

PTI spokesperson Fawad Chaudhry also confirmed the development saying the PTI will give the name of some other candidate for the slot on Friday [today]. The PTI’s second nominee Dr Hasan Askari, however, told The Express Tribune that he was nominated by the PTI after having his prior consent.

“It’s just a proposal and it will be premature to comment over it at this initial stage,” Askari said.

On Wednesday, the Punjab government rejected PTI’s move to withdraw Khosa’s name as unconstitutional and said holding consultation afresh, once it is already done in accordance with Constitution, will be a violation of the law.

Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanaullah had categorically rejected the option of holding fresh negotiations with the PTI  saying a notification endorsing Khosa’s appointment as caretaker CM Punjab would be signed on June 1 in case he (Khosa) wishes to accept the decision.

However, Khosa on Thursday withdrew his nomination for the coveted position. “The interim chief minister should have the consensus of all political parties,” said Khosa. He said ‘propaganda’ against him had come to light, and he was not willing to take up the responsibility under the current circumstances.

Speaking to a private news channel, Khosa revealed that the PTI Imran Khan had called him some ten days ago and had said that he would like to propose his name for Punjab interim chief minister.

“During the phone call, Khan had also appreciated me as a trustworthy person. But today his party leaders are levelling baseless allegations against me,” he lamented.

Following Khosa’s refusal, the government is now left with no other option but to hold fresh consultation with the PTI for the slot.

However, Leader of Opposition in Punjab Assembly Mehmood-ur-Rashid failed to get an appointment from the Punjab Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif to hold a fresh consultation over the matter. Rashid said he had left a message for Punjab CM and hopefully he would meet with him today [Friday].

The government and opposition now have two days, until midnight of June 2, to decide over the matter. However, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) seems to have ruled out the possibility of finalising name of Punjab caretaker CM even in the parliamentary committee.

Senator Pervaiz Rashid, a close aide to former premier Nawaz Sharif, has said the party has decided to let the matter go to the ECP. He said after the PTI’s withdrawal of an agreed name, the PML-N does not think there is any further room for dialogue.

Punjab Government spokesperson Malik Muhammad Ahmad Khan said Punjab government does not see any utility for further talks on the question of caretaker CM.

“Hypothetically speaking, if a parliamentary committee agrees to their proposed names in coming three days, what is the guarantee they [PTI] wouldn’t back out, again. Under such uncertain circumstances, the PML-N believes, it is best for the matter to be decided by the ECP,” he added.



He said Punjab law minister is in consultation with the opposition leader for the sake of form.

Khan, however, said the parliamentary committee which has to be constituted as per the law will include Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanaullah, Rana Mashud and another parliamentarian from Lahore. “The committee will not decide the matter and let it go to the ECP,” he added.

According to Article 224-A-2,3 of the Constitution, in case the CM and the leader of the opposition do not agree on any person to be appointed as the care-taker CM, within three days of the dissolution of that assembly, they shall forward two nominees each to a committee to be immediately constituted by the speaker of the provincial assembly.

The committee comprises six members of the outgoing provincial assembly having equal representation from the treasury and the opposition benches, to be nominated by the chief minister and the leader of the opposition respectively.

The committee finalises the name of the caretaker CM within three days of the referral of the matter to it. If the committee is unable to decide in this time, the names of the nominees shall be referred to the ECP for final decision within two days.