ISLAMABAD: Awami National Party (ANP) leader Ghulam Ahmad Bilour was appointed head of an eight-member parliamentary committee as its meeting to nominate a consensus candidate for the position of caretaker prime minister went underway on Wednesday, Dispatch News Desk (DND) reported.
Speaker National Assembly Dr. Fehmida Mirza on Tuesday constituted the parliamentary committee after the Pakistan Peoples’ Party (PPP)-led government and Pakistan Muslim League –Nawaz (PML-N) failed to agree on a name for caretaker prime minister.
Talking to media persons before meeting in Islamabad on Wednesday, the members of the Parliamentary Committee expressed optimism about understanding for appointment of the Caretaker Prime Minister.
Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) Ch Shujaat Hussain said the issue should be resolved at the Committee level, While PPP’s Farooq H Naek said difference of opinion is beauty of the democracy and hoped that a consensus can be evolved on the name of the Caretaker Prime Minister.
Senator Pervez Rashid of PML-N said the process for appointment of the Caretaker Prime Minister has moved from one stage to the other as envisaged in the Constitution and therefore, it cannot be construed as a failure.
PPP leader Syed Khurshid Shah said all of them were politicians and would move ahead with a positive spirit. Qamar Zaman Kaira said Leader of the Opposition Ch Nisar Ali Khan has put the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) into a difficult situation.
Kaira said if the issue is not resolved at the Committee level then heavy responsibility would devolve on the ECP. He also said that opposition does not mean PML-N and names from other opposition parties should have been included in the Committee as well.
In the meeting, the treasury benches will be represented by PML-Q chief Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, PPP leaders Syed Khursheed Ahmad Shah and Farooq H. Naek and Haji Ghulam Ahmed Bilour of the ANP.
Senator Pervez Rasheed, Sardar Mehtab Ahmed Khan, Khawaja Saad Rafiq and Sardar Mohammad Yaqoob Khan Nasar will represent the PML-N.
The PPP and PML-N will put forward two names each and one name may be chosen by the committee through voting within three days.
Under the constitution, if the parliamentary committee fails to nominate a consensus candidate within three days, the matter will automatically go to the ECP, which will have to finalise one name within two days.
The PPP has proposed the names of Dr Abdul Hafeez Sheikh, Dr Ishrat Husain, and Justice (retd) Mir Hazar Khan Khoso for the position of caretaker PM. On the other hand, the PML-N has proposed the names of Justice (retd) Nasir Aslam Zahid and Rasul Bakhsh Palijo.
DND
