Term completion: Three names in the running for caretaker G-B CM

Sher Jehan Mir is expected to take charge as the caretaker CM of G-B, Akbar Taban named the new G-B governor.

GILGIT: With the term of the incumbent Gilgit-Baltistan (G-B) Assembly due to expire at midnight, a number of names have been suggested for the caretaker chief minister slot, insiders familiar with the matter said.

Sources told the The Express Tribune that Sher Jehan Mir is expected to take over as caretaker Chief Minister of G-B from the incumbent Mehdi Shah.

Sources said that Governor Pir Kalam had been replaced by Akbar Taban.

As G-B lawmakers met for the last time as members of the G-B Legislative Assembly on Tuesday, Chief Minister Mehdi Shah and opposition leader Janbaz Khan were in a huddle with the federal government to appoint a caretaker CM.

“A caretaker CM is likely to emerge within the next 24 hours,” a senior official in the outgoing G-B administration told The Express Tribune earlier in the day.

“They have left for Islamabad on the invitation of the federal government to take part in consultations for an interim CM,” the official further said.

The regional government is said to have constituted a committee comprising the federal minister for G-B and Kashmir Affairs Birjees Tahir in addition to the G-B CM and opposition leader.

“There are three names in the running. If they fail to build consensus over one candidate, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif will use his discretionary powers to appoint a caretaker CM,” the official added.

Back in Gilgit, Speaker Wazir Baig, who chaired the last session of the incumbent house, said “According to the governance order of 2009, the tenure of the G-B government will end on Wednesday at 12.01am.”

The Empowerment and Self-Governance Order 2009, under which the G-B government was formed in 2009, does not include a provision for an interim set-up.

According to the G-B official, necessary amendments were made in the order to allow for a caretaker set-up.

Fragile ties

“This is our last day in the assembly and we wish the region and those replacing us best of luck,” said Baig in his farewell speech on Tuesday as lawmakers paid tribute to him for his impartial role throughout his tenure.

According to Baig, the legislative assembly enacted 31 laws and passed about 100 resolutions in the public interest.

“Now it’s up to the judiciary to take decisions in the light of these laws,” Baig said. “The incoming government should also honour resolutions passed by this assembly.”

Lawmakers praise performance of G-B assembly

Law minister Ali Madad Sher said that he found the performance of the assembly better than “the rest of Pakistan.”

“What we did despite our limited resources is far better than [the rest of the] assemblies,” said Sher who was speaking on behalf of the G-B CM.

All the lawmakers found the moment “historic” as the assembly successfully completed its maiden term uninterrupted.

Of teachers and typos

Amina Ansari, the Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) lawmaker from Baltistan, tabled a resolution demanding corrections in the G-B government’s tourism department website.

“The website has no mention of Imamia Noorbakhshia sect which is dominant in some areas. This is one of the errors that need to be fixed,” Ansari demanded.

However, Minister of Information and Tourism Sadia Danish said a minor correction does not merit tabling of a resolution in the house.

“It could be done if the lawmaker wrote us a letter,” explained Danish.

The resolution was nonetheless passed by the house.

Another resolution tabled by Rahmat Khaliq, Abdul Hameed, Yasmeen Nazar and others called for the restoration of 311 teachers sacked over illegal appointments.

“The government should restore them through an executive order,” said Nazar, who read out the resolution.