JEE News quoting sources said that Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sikandar Sultan Raja on Sunday decided on January 22 (Sunday) to consider the proposed names of caretaker chief minister of Punjab to fill the highest post of the province. The meeting has been called.
Sources say that the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) will announce the name of caretaker chief minister of Punjab tomorrow.
The development came after the six-member bipartisan parliamentary committee constituted by Speaker Punjab Assembly Sabtain Khan failed to reach a consensus on names for the interim chief minister.
The issue of appointment of the caretaker chief minister faced an inordinate delay after the dissolution of the Punjab Assembly last week, due to the ongoing tussle between the provincial government and the opposition over the nominees.
According to the details available with JEE News, the ECP has received the names of four nominees, two each from the government and one from the opposition.
The electoral body will review the names in a meeting in which the CEC and other members of the commission will also participate.
‘I hope that Election Commission will choose a better person’
Meanwhile, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Senior Vice President Fawad Chaudhry said that the ECP will select one of the four nominees under Article 244A of the Constitution of Pakistan in two days.
On his Twitter handle, Fawad wrote that ECP cannot nominate anyone for the post of provincial chief executive as per his wish.
آرٹیکل 224-A کے مطابق الیکشن کمیشن دو دن کے اندر ان چار ناموں میں سے کسی ایک کو وزیر اعلیٰ نامزد کرے گا جو پارلیمانی کمیٹی کی طرف سے کمیشن کو بھیجے جائینگے کمیشن اپنی طرف سے نام نہیں دے سکتا امید ہے الیکشن کمیشن شریف اور زرداری کے فرنٹ مین کی بجائے بہتر نام کا انتخاب کرے گا، pic.twitter.com/zm0oboLFVH
— Ch Fawad Hussain (@fawadchaudhry) January 21, 2023
The PTI leader said, “I hope the ECP will choose a better name instead of appointing someone who is the front man of Sharif and Zardari.”
It should be noted that former Punjab Chief Minister Pervez Elahi – who is a PTI ally – has already announced that he will take the matter to the Supreme Court if the decision-making authority is left to the ECP.
Government and opposition face to face
The government and the opposition remained at loggerheads over the appointment of Punjab’s caretaker chief minister on Friday, as a parliamentary committee – which was formed on Thursday – comprising three members from both sides, failed to reach a consensus on the issue in a meeting on Friday. could not reach
Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PMLN) leader Malik, speaking to reporters after the meeting, said: “It was an opportunity to settle things politically, but that didn’t happen here.”
“There can be no agreement when there are too many polarized positions.”
Meanwhile, the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leader also lamented the deadlock, saying, “When the house was small, the people were big. Now the house is big and the people are small.”
“Unfortunately we couldn’t agree [on a name], we’re not leaving good memories,” he added.
Brief profiles of all nominees:
Mohsin Raza Naqvi
Born in Lahore, Mohsin Raza Naqvi is a journalist by profession. He received his higher education in America and was associated with American TV channel CNN during his stay in Miami. After returning to Pakistan, he served as the regional head of CNN.
According to one report, Benazir Bhutto, whom Mohsin had interviewed earlier, had contacted him for the last time before her assassination.
Mohsin founded the local Media City News Network in 2009 at the age of 30 and now owns six news channels and one newspaper. He is also widely known in political circles and has strong connections with leading political figures.
Ahad Raza Cheema
Known as the best administrator in Shahbaz Sharif’s chief ministry, Cheema is also called ‘Metro Man’ among his close friends and political circles.
Cheema was a Grade 20 PAS (Pakistan Administrative Service) officer and served as the Chief Executive Officer of Punjab Government-owned QATPC.
In 2005, the then Chief Minister Pervez Elahi selected him to oversee his marquee project ‘Pad Lakha Punjab’.
Punjab civil servants attribute the project’s success to Ahad’s management skills and hard work. Cheema was in NAB custody during Imran Khan’s tenure, but was later acquitted.
Ahmad Nawaz Sukhira
PTI’s first candidate for Caretaker Chief Minister of Punjab is current Secretary Cabinet Division Ahmed Nawaz Sukhira, who is scheduled to retire on January 31.
A graduate of Harvard, Sukhira joined the Civil Services of Pakistan in 1985 and served as Secretary of Commerce, Information, Privatization, Textiles, and his most recent post as Federal Secretary.
He also held the additional charge of PTV while serving as Information Secretary.
Naveed Akram Cheema
PTI’s other nominee is Naveed Akram Cheema, who also served as the Punjab Chief Secretary and twice as the manager of the Pakistan Cricket Team.
Naveed first took over as manager after the infamous spot-fixing case in the 2010 tour of England, and for the second time after retiring from the civil services on 31 December 2014, just before the 2015 ODI World Cup.
