Retired judges top contenders for caretaker CM post
The government and the opposition in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa were actively considering the names for the caretaker chief minister of the province following the dissolution of the provincial assembly on the advice of Chief Minister Mahmood Khan this week.
Sources said that Justice (retd) Mian Muhammad Ajmal tops the list of names to be proposed by the government side while Justice (retd) Dost Muhammad was likely to be the first name in the list being finalised by the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F)-led opposition.
According to the Constitution, a caretaker government takes over after the dissolution of the assembly to look after the day-to-day affairs of the province until the elections. The name of the caretaker chief minister is finalised through the consultation between the outgoing government and the opposition.
After the dissolution of the assembly in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa would mark the end of the second Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf government in the province. Sources said that the government and the opposition were considering the names for the appointment.
Read more: K-P Assembly dissolution summary to be sent on Tuesday: CM
According to the PTI sources, the name of Justice (retd) Mian Muhammad Ajmal was being mentioned as the top candidate for caretaker chief minister in the province. While sources closed to Opposition Leader Akram Khan Durrani, sad that two political figures were also being considered for the top post.
The opposition was mulling over the name of Justice (retd) Dost Mohammad Khan, who had previously served as the caretaker chief minister before the 2018 general elections, the sources said, adding that the name of Manzoor Afridi was also expected to be included.
Meanwhile, it had also been stated that the name of Justice (retd) Ijaz Afzal was being considered for the caretaker chief minister. However, neither the government sources nor those from the opposition side would confirm it.
Chief Minister Mahmood Khan announced on Sunday that the summary for the dissolution of the provincial assembly would be sent to Governor Haji Ghulam Ali on Tuesday as per instructions by PTI Chairman Imran Khan. He said on Twitter the PTI would come back to power after winning the fresh elections.
The dissolution of the K-P Assembly will follows the dissolution of the Punjab assembly last week on the advice of Chief Minister Parvez Elahi – also on the instructions of Imran. Governor Balighur Rehman refrained from giving his assent to the chief minister advice, hence the assembly stood dissolved after 48 hours after the receipt of the summary by the governor.
Earlier on January 9, the opposition benches had submitted a requisition for the assembly session. As per law, the speaker is bound to summon the session within 14 days of the requisition or January 22. Apparently in the present circumstances, the requisition had become ineffective.
According to legal experts, if the chief minister sent the summary for assembly dissolution on January 17, the assembly would stand dissolved as soon as the governor signed it. But if the governor refrained from signing it, there would be automatic dissolution after 48 hours.