Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) Chief Minister Mahmood Khan and opposition leader Akram Khan Durrani failed to hold consultation about the appointment of a caretaker chief minister on Thursday too.
If both the leaders failed to sit together and decide the matter with mutual consent by Friday (today), then it would be referred to the parliamentary committee.
The chief minister has declined to send names for caretaker chief minister to the opposition leader. The chief minister and opposition leader are bound to decide the matter jointly within three days and two days have already passed without any progress in this regard.
If they failed to contact each other to decide the matter on Friday too then the matter would be sent to a committee to be constituted by the speaker of the house.
When contacted, former provincial minister Shaukat Yousafzai told The Express Tribune that the chief minister would neither sit with the opposition leader nor would send him the list of candidates.
“Akram Durrani’s attitude towards the chief minister and his cabinet was offensive and this leaves no room for contact between the two,” he said, adding that Durrani had no role in the house in the past four years.
“Mahmood Khan could send the name of PTI candidates for the slot of caretaker chief minister to speaker who would forward it to the parliamentary committee,” he remarked.
Yousafzai said that consultation would be held through parliamentary committee and the chief minister would not consult Durrani directly.
On the other hand, Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) and allied parties held a meeting at the residence of opposition leader Akram Durrani which was attended by Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N)’s Sardar Yousaf, Awami National Party (ANP)’s Shagufta Malik and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP)’s Nighat Orakzai.
Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) and Balochistan Awami Party (BAP) had not been invited.
ANP presented the name of former police officer Zafarullah Khan to which Akram Durrani said that the name would be finalized after consultation.
When contacted, PML-N spokesperson Ikthiar Wali said that PTI had not consulted the opposition about the names for caretaker chief minister and PDM would put forward its list once PTI presents its own.
“PTI and its stubbornness is past its prime and if it fails to show responsible attitude then the matter would go to the Election Commission of Pakistan which will decide the name of the caretaker chief minister,” he added, saying it is better for the chief minister and opposition leader to consult on the matter and decide the issue through mutual consent by promoting the culture of tolerance.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 20th, 2023.
COMMENTS
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see our Comments FAQ