Caretaker chief ministers of Punjab, Balochistan to be decided by parliamentary committees

Decision of K-P's caretaker chief minister now lies with ECP

Parliamentary committees in Punjab and Balochistan will now attempt to reach a consensus on caretaker chief ministers for their respective provinces after provincial governments and the opposition remained in deadlock over the decision.

In Punjab, four names were put forth by the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), including former Intelligence Bureau director-general Aftab Sultan, former naval chief Zakaullah, Justice (retd) Sahir Ali and former Punjab Police inspector-general Saleem Dogar. However, Sultan recused himself from the caretaker chief executive position. The PML-N now has to finalise two out of these three names for the committee.

The opposition in Punjab, led by the PTI, tipped Professor Hassan Askari and Ayaz Amir for the slot.

The spokesperson for the opposition in Punjab stated that a parliamentary committee will be formed on Monday to decide on the matter.

Mian Mehmoodur Rasheed's spokesperson confirmed that Rasheed was occupied with PTI's parliamentary board meeting which will decide on party tickets for prospective candidates.



"The first meeting with the committee along with the former provincial government will take place tomorrow," Rasheed's spokesperson added. "PTI will present Ayaz Amir and Hassan Askari's name as final candidates for the position," he confirmed.

Due to the unavailability of the opposition leader, the committee will meet tomorrow to discuss the matter.

Balochistan

The former provincial government and the opposition will forward two names each to the committee for a decision. The last meeting was held between former chief minister Abdul Quddus Bizenjo and opposition leader Abdul Rahim Tawal, but the deadlock persisted.

If the committee fails to decide on the caretaker chief minister's name, the matter will be forwarded to the ECP following K-P's example.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (K-P)

The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) opposition pitched Justice (retd) Dost Mohammad Khan and Manzoor Afridi for the slot, while the government nominated bureaucrat Inayatullah Khan and Ejaz Ahmad Qureshi. Initially, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government pitched Afridi but after facing severe backlash withdrew the name. The opposition pitched Afridi the very next day.



As the three-period day of the parliamentary committee expired on Sunday, the decision of interim chief minister for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) was forwarded to ECP on Monday.