Najam Sethi is the Punjab interim CM!

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PakistanToday
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The parliamentary committee of the Punjab Assembly on Tuesday night agreed on veteran journalist Najam Sethi as the caretaker chief minister of Punjab.

Sethi has earlier served as a federal minister in the caretaker setup led by Malik Meraj Khalid in 1996.

The six-member committee of the Punjab Assembly reached consensus on the third and final day of consultative sessions, and announced its decision just hours before the midnight deadline.

Former ministers Rana Sanaullah, Mujtaba Shujaur Rehman and Iqbal Chunnar represented the ruling Pakistan Muslim League – Nawaz (PML-N) in the committee, while the opposition Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and PML-Quaid were represented by Shaukat Basra, Zulfiqar Gondal and Chaudhry Zaheer.

The PML-N had suggested the names of former Justice Amer Raza and former bureaucrat Khawaja Zaheer Ahmed while the opposition wanted to see either Justice Zahid Husain or senior journalist Najam Sethi for the post.

Sethi hosts a show on a local television channel. He is also the editor-in-chief of The Friday Times, a political weekly, and previously had been the editor of English newspaper Daily Times and Daily Aajkal an Urdu-language newspaper.

Shortly after his nomination for the post, Sethi told reporters that he would ensure transparent elections in the province. He said that he will approach the Election Commission and will extend his full support to the panel for fair polls.

The parliamentary committee in Punjab had earlier failed to reach consensus and even the members announced in the morning to refer the matter to the Election Commission.

However, PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif intervened in the matter and asked his brother Shahbaz Sharif to summon a session of the committee again to finalise the nomination for interim chief minister.

With the nomination of caretaker Punjab CM, the process of caretaker governments has been completed in the four provinces and the Center.

Sethi won the 1999 International Press Freedom Award of the US-based Committee to Protect Journalists and the 2009 World Association of Newspapers’ Golden Pen of Freedom Award.

He graduated from Government College University in Lahore. He received a Master’s degree in Economics at UK’s Cambridge University, and spent two additional years there at Clare College as a PhD research student.

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106 COMMENTS

  9. So same happened what we said ………… What if not Asma Jehangir , SAFMA in collaboration with foreign agencies , has succeeded in Najam Sethi ………………. Well job done PMLn …………….. You are working for the ‘goodwill’ of this country to obliged ‘few’ outsiders ……………. You selected a person who is against the Ideology of Pakistan & supporter of cultural shamelessness in Pakistan under the heading of ‘Aman ki Ahsha’ ………………….
    well, Shareefs , piplis & corrupts in power, whatever u do n what ever your outside masters wish to do , we still remember our Army Chief’s statement in PMA where he said that Army will protect the geographical and ideological boundries of our motherland Pakistan at any cost.
    You mount thousands of Najams or Asmas on this nation , ultimately you , your thoughts & ur puppets will lick the dust. InshAllah.
    Congrats to all the supporters of PMLn, Keep it up.

  11. Najam Sethi : Chief Minister of Punjab !!!

    Sethi was a political prisoner from 1975-1977 during the regime of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto for protesting military action in Balochistan. In 1984, the regime of General Zia ul Haq put him in prison for one month for publishing “From Jinnah To Zia”, a book authored by the former chief justice of the Supreme Court of Pakistan, Justice Mohammad Munir. The book was a sort of mea culpa in which the author had admitted his grave error in legitimizing the first martial law in Pakistan in 1958, thereby paving the way for Gen Zia’s martial law in 1977.

    In 1999, he was again imprisoned by the government of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on trumped up charges of treason. The reason was relentless exposure of corruption in the Sharif family by The Friday Times. The Supreme Court of Pakistan later rejected the charges and freed him after one month. While in detention, he was tortured and suffered a heart attack, which necessitated heart surgery in 2000. The Sharif government harassed him later by slapping dozens of income tax cases, accused him of being a “non-Muslim” and tried to deprive him of his voting rights. But all the cases were dismissed by the courts and the his rights were restored by the Chief Election Commissioner.

  14. بریکنگ نیوز : تین ماہ میں لوڈ شیڈنگ کا خاتمہ کرنے کا دعویدار سونامی ایکسپریس نے اپنے بیان پر یو ٹرن لے لیا اب لوڈ شیڈنگ پانچ سال میں ختم ہو گی : عمران خان

  22. Person who is against founder of Pakistan and its creation, is now a CM of largest province in Pakistan

  27. Najam Sb! Mubarak ho aap ko,
    Tajzia krna aur paishingoi krne mn aur Punjab jaise Province mn Administration sambhalne mn Bara farq hai.
    Bari zimadari hai, Best of luck. & Allah May bless u.

    Ali Haider Baloch
    0345-8488111

  30. YEH ACHA NAHAI HAI YEH MASHKOOK ADMI AUR ANTI PAKISTAN HAI
    FOUNDER OF PAKISTAN KY KHILAAF BATAIN KEIN

  37. ohh ths y he was buttering the n.league in previous episodes of the show…. 😀

  40. So same happened what we said ………… What if not Asma Jehangir , SAFMA in collaboration with foreign agencies , has succeeded in Najam Sethi ………………. Well job done PMLn …………….. You are working for the 'goodwill' of this country to obliged 'few' outsiders ……………. You selected a person who is against the Ideology of Pakistan & supporter of cultural shamelessness in Pakistan under the heading of 'Aman ki Ahsha' ………………….
    well, Shareefs , piplis & corrupts in power, whatever u do n what ever your outside masters wish to do , we still remember our Army Chief's statement in PMA where he said that Army will protect the geographical and ideological boundries of our motherland Pakistan at any cost.
    You mount thousands of Najams or Asmas on this nation , ultimately you , your thoughts & ur puppets will lick the dust. InshAllah.
    Congrats to all the supporters of PMLn, Keep it up.

  42. Najam Sethi : Chief Minister of Punjab !!!

    Sethi was a political prisoner from 1975-1977 during the regime of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto for protesting military action in Balochistan. In 1984, the regime of General Zia ul Haq put him in prison for one month for publishing “From Jinnah To Zia”, a book authored by the former chief justice of the Supreme Court of Pakistan, Justice Mohammad Munir. The book was a sort of mea culpa in which the author had admitted his grave error in legitimizing the first martial law in Pakistan in 1958, thereby paving the way for Gen Zia’s martial law in 1977.

    In 1999, he was again imprisoned by the government of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on trumped up charges of treason. The reason was relentless exposure of corruption in the Sharif family by The Friday Times. The Supreme Court of Pakistan later rejected the charges and freed him after one month. While in detention, he was tortured and suffered a heart attack, which necessitated heart surgery in 2000. The Sharif government harassed him later by slapping dozens of income tax cases, accused him of being a “non-Muslim” and tried to deprive him of his voting rights. But all the cases were dismissed by the courts and the his rights were restored by the Chief Election Commissioner.

  46. بریکنگ نیوز : تین ماہ میں لوڈ شیڈنگ کا خاتمہ کرنے کا دعویدار سونامی ایکسپریس نے اپنے بیان پر یو ٹرن لے لیا اب لوڈ شیڈنگ پانچ سال میں ختم ہو گی : عمران خان

  53. WAKE UP PAKISTANI PEOPLE START THINKING WHAT IS GOING ON I THINK THIS CROWED WILL CHOSE WHAT THEY DESERVE IN GENERAL ELECTIONS .LET THE WHOLE NATION (CROWD) SLEEP

  55. what a sensible selection. what a balanced, clear forward thinking person without the bias of religious dogmas. But has hardly any time to sweep the rut.trust he will ensure strict fair election. god be with him

  60. مبارک سیٹھی صاحب۔ ہم امید کرتے ہیں کہ آپ ہمیشہ کی طرح اچھی اور ایماندار اور غیرجانبداری سے اس منصب پر کام کریں گے۔ اور آپ کے لیے دعا ہے کہ اللہ تعالی آپ کو ہمیشہ استقامت اور ہمت دے، اور صحت وتندرستی دے۔ امین

  68. Now I am sure PMLN will win with a huge majority. Now great IK needs to wait. These corrupt leaders are cleverer and simple and honest people can't win. But still I hope Allah Almighty will do a miracle and save Pakistan, Insha Allah future power center of Islam. Ameen.

  72. hEY! sethi we will now see you how will you manage the chores of the punjab? As analysts seem very patriotic…

  76. None of us knew, all corrupts, loan defaulters can come in the parliament.
    On page no.3 there is a Clause 1 of the nomination paper, it is clearly stated that all the loan defaulters and corrupts – and who ever, does readjustment, resettlement, or takes stay – can come in parliament! It takes nothing for ANYONE to take stay.
    and almost none of us even read those nomination papers.
    Check this out, if you're unsure about my words: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=478033242…

    This is Worst I know.
    Najam Sethi, I'm unsure about you. I can't trust you because you are elected by the same Election Commission.

  77. ohh plz people stop bleme game n criticize! just give me the name of your ideal 1? if any? i m sure u will find none

  78. Indeed a good choice of democracy lovers. He is educated, intellectual,knowledgeable and understands the intriguing power politics where the sons of soil have always played a role in advancing their socalled interests. He knows what to speak, whare to speak and how to speak. We can expect simplicity of things from him in many ways. Wish him success.

  96. if neither center nor other provinces follows it than it will be considered another Punjab specific decision based on particular prejudice. on the other hand replacing or shuttling Officers will not grants impartiality yet there is need for a vibrant Election commission only.

  97. Ex CM Punjab did great job, but he lacks in segregation of duties. lack of good governance in Punjab. He was not the CM of Lahore, he was the CM of whole Punjab. Unfortunately he belongs to PML(N) not PML(Shehbaz). Means he has to do what he is told to do by Nawaz. And Nawaz is a big liar. All his family is in the higher position of party and PML(n) members are record holders of fake degrees. Fake degrees does not mean that they are un-educated, it means they have already deceived the public of Pakistan. And if you vote for them you will be the biggest fool.

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