Presidential pick: PML-N to take top politicians on board

A task force has been formed to contact heads of all political parties.

ISLAMABAD:

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Friday formed a task force to take all political parties of the country into confidence over PML-N’s proposed names for the president’s slot.

The task force comprises party leaders such as Khawaja Asif‚ Chaudhry Nisar‚ Shahbaz Sharif‚ Ahsan Iqbal and Khawaja Saad Rafique. The committee is to initiate contacts with the heads of political parties shortly, informed Khawaja Saad Rafique.

A meeting of PML-N leaders was held in Islamabad with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in the chair to review candidates’ names.

Sources informed The Express Tribune that the prime minister deemed a unanimous decision crucial for picking a president. “The 2013 polls have sent a positive vibe across the world – by electing a unanimous president this time, we can prove the unity of parliamentarians,” the sources quoted the PM as telling the meeting.

While recalling PML-N’s support in electing Yousaf Raza Gilani as the prime minister and Fehmida Mirza as speaker of the National Assembly with a majority back in 2008, the premier added that a similar “positive gesture is being expected by the PML-N this time round.”

According to sources, the names of Sartaj Aziz‚ Saeed-uz-Zaman Siddiqui‚ Mamnoon Hussain‚ Ghous Ali Shah‚ Iqbal Zafar Jhagra and Mehtab Abbassi have been shortlisted in this regard.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 19^th, 2013.