They spar on front pages and prime-time television shows but behind the scenes, the government and the leading opposition party are inching closer to opening formal talks on selecting leaders for a caretaker setup.
The most significant signal came on Tuesday when the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) announced it had shortlisted nine candidates for the slot of caretaker prime minister and would pick three of them after consultation with other political parties.
Opposition Leader in the National Assembly Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan said the party’s shortlisted candidates included retired judges, respectable lawyers and respected politicians.
Giving veiled details on the candidates, Nisar said none of them are from Punjab, nor are they former generals and bureaucrats.
Neither Nisar nor other party leaders were forthcoming when asked to share the names though.
“Only [PML-N president] Nawaz Sharif and Chaudhry Nisar know [the names]; it is between them so far,” a senior party leader said when asked about the candidates.
The short-listing took place at a recent meeting between Nawaz and Nisar in Lahore, after the former returned from Saudi Arabia, said PML-N Deputy Information Secretary Khurram Dastgir Khan.
The PML-N will put these names in front of other opposition parties, including Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F), for choosing three candidates that would be shared with the government for a final decision, he added.
According to the 20th constitutional amendment, a caretaker prime minster is to be chosen through consultations between the premier and the National Assembly opposition leader. Both are allowed to propose three names each, and subsequently choose one.
Caretaker premier from Balochistan
Sources privy to the discussions, however, said Nawaz had asked party’s senior leadership to evolve a consensus, with other opposition parties, over the appointment of a caretaker premier from Balochistan.
The party’s motive behind this decision is two-fold, sources said.
If Nawaz’s candidate from Balochistan becomes the caretaker premier, it would give the party a major boost in the province in the upcoming elections, sources said.
Secondly, it would help undermine the ruling Pakistan Peoples Party as well since the Baloch are annoyed with the federal government and the PPP is unwilling to nominate a Baloch candidate due to the party’s unpopularity in the province, they added.
Sources shared some of the deliberations with The Express Tribune, saying that Nawaz expressed his desire to see Mehmood Khan Achakzai as caretaker premier but Chaudhry Nisar said Achakzai would not be acceptable to the military authorities.
Nawaz then proposed the name of Attaullah Mengal but senior party leaders did not agree.
The two names, however, have been included in the list that would be discussed with other opposition parties.
The party is also said to have included the name of Justice (retd) Nasir Aslam Zahid, purportedly to get the support of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement.
Sources added that former judge, Justice Saeeduz Zaman Siddiqi, is among the PML-N nominees.
Early elections
In a separate development, Religious Affairs Minister Khursheed Shah said the elections could be held a couple of months earlier than scheduled.
The polls are slated to be held after March next year but talks of early elections, and negotiations between the ruling and the leading opposition parties, have been making the rounds.
Adding volume to the murmurs, Shah said the elections could be held two months in advance and the government would talk to its allied parties before taking a final decision.
There are suggestions that the government might announce early polls as a way out of a lingering confrontation with the judiciary over reopening an overseas graft case involving President Asif Ali Zardari.
PTI cries foul
Reacting to Chaudhry Nisar’s announcement of finalising a list of nine candidates, a senior PTI leader expressed anger and said the two largest parties were conspiring to deprive the Imran Khan-led party of its ‘due role’ in the process of selecting interim leaders.
“Our mandate is being stolen,” said Javed Hashmi, president of the PTI.
The party does not have any representation in parliament but considers itself a major stakeholder in the system, based on buoyant public support. (With additional input by Abdul Manan in Lahore)
Published in The Express Tribune, August 29th, 2012.
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Justice Retd Tariq Mehmood from baluchistan is the best choice.
Mandi Bahauddin: Mandi Bahauddin Ex-Servicemen would reject caretaker prime minister if appointed from lawyers, retired judges, politicians and persons running NGOs. Major Sher Gondal, President Ex-Servicemen Society Mandi Bahauddin said that lawyers, retired judges and politicians have no experience in administration as such caretaker PM if appointed from them would not be able to control powerful and wealthy candidates from rigging elections. He said all politicians in power are well known to people for using all dirty tactics during elections for victory. He said ex-servicemen as citizens of the country propose name of Lt Gen (RETD) Faiz Ali Chishti for caretaker PM. He has vast experience in administration with clean past. If he is given job of holding general elections, no one would be able to rig elections at any stage. On the contrary if some lawyer or retired judge or politician is appointed as caretaker PM, rigging would continue and powerful candidates would take results of their choice. And candidates from common people would loose chance to win elections. In his statement appearing in press media Ch Nisar said that no retired general from armed forces or bureaucrat would be appointed as caretaker PM. Ch Nisar by making this statement has doubted competency and loyalty of generals and bureaucrats which is highly condemnable.
I bet Pti will boycott again.
This is how democracy is supposed to work; instead of appreciating the government and opposition’s desire to agree on the basic rules governing next elections, some demagogues want us to revert back to Pakistan of the 1990s when parties cut each other’s roots. They tend to forget these steps will empower the electorate (plenty of which have and will vote for the PMLs, PPP, ANP and MQM); without this cooperation, political parties both inside and outside parliament would not have a fair chance at power. As for the intervention of the Saudis, this is a reality even powerful countries aren’t immune from; where is the surprise element? Plenty of countries have their interests in Pakistan, each and every party in Pakistan lobbies abroad for support as well. If a cancer hospital cannot be run without generous donations from ex-pats, can governments be run on air?
Now they are begging their "Due Share", yeasterday these fools were demanding resignations from PML-N MPs.
@Shah Farman, do you have any know how of politics????
PMLN has short listed five names for Interim PM. These are Nawaz, Nawaz, Nawaz, Nawaz and Nawaz
I hope democratic forces can come up wuth consensus soon. cuz establishment in full flow to destabilize them as the wind of change is blowing and their power fading. Before imran khan started taking all these lotas and ex musharaf supporters, we actually had a CHANGE! and these status quo people where insignificant. but they brought imran in the pic and bingo!! the situation changed. All of a sudden everyone, be it pmln, ppp or pti, is after people like kasuri, Amir moqam, Tareen, chattas, etc etc. So there is no doubt, that imran with the help of establishment is here to only keep the status quo!
The only way PMLN can be pleased is to hand over the government