Nasir Saeed Khosa named as Punjab caretaker CM

LAHORE: Former Punjab and Balochistan chief secretary Nasir Saeed Khosa was on Monday named as the caretaker chief minister of Punjab.

The announcement was made during a joint press conference by incumbent Punjab Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Opposition Leader in Punjab Assembly Mian Mehmoodur Rasheed.

Glad to announce that Leader of the opposition Punjab and I have agreed on the name of Nasir Saeed Khosa as caretaker Chief Minister Punjab for interim setup. Another step towards strengthening democratic process. pic.twitter.com/FVfU5Edqgk

— Shehbaz Sharif (@CMShehbaz) May 28, 2018

Speaking on the occasion, the chief minister said that Khosa’s name has been agreed upon after consultation with the opposition leader.

“Some names were suggested during the earlier meeting and we have consulted our party leadership afterward. After the consultations, we have agreed on one name,” he said.

He said that Khosa has performed his duties with utmost honesty in the past and he will rise up to the expectations of the people.

“We hope that Khosa will utilise his diverse experience and professional abilities to hold transparent elections so that the political parties could independently take part in the elections and everybody could have same opportunities in the election process. We hope that the people will be at liberty to give votes to the parties of their choice and the democratic process will continue. It is the victory of the people and I am thankful to Rasheed as the consultation process gives impetus to democracy,” he added.

The opposition leader said that the second meeting with the chief minister has proved fruitful and after considering different names for the post and following a discussion with Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan, they agreed on Khosa’s name.

“I am hopeful that he will play his role most objectively to hold free, fair and transparent elections. I also extend congratulations to the people of Punjab,” he said.

NASIR KHOSA’S PROFILE:

Khosa belongs to a distinguished family of Dera Ghazi Khan.

His brother Justice Asif Saeed Khosa is a serving judge of the Supreme Court of Pakistan, who was also a member of the bench which disqualified Nawaz Sharif as the prime minister in the Panama Papers case. His other brother Tariq Khosa was a distinguished police officer who has served as the director general of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) and Inspector General of Police (IG) Balochistan.

Nasir Khosa served in various capacities, including deputy commissioner Faisalabad and Lahore, commissioner Lahore, additional secretary finance, additional secretary agriculture and food and principal secretary to the Punjab governor.

Khosa has also served both Nawaz Sharif and Shehbaz Sharif in various capacities.

He served as principal secretary to the then prime minister Nawaz Sharif and chief secretary during the stint of Shehbaz Sharif as the CM from 2008 to 2013. He was nominated by Nawaz Sharif as an executive director of the World Bank (WB) in 2013.

Khosa holds three Masters degrees — Master of Arts (MA) in English Literature, Government College, Lahore; Master of Public Administration (MPA) – Specialization in Development Economics, Pennsylvania State University, USA; and a Master of Science (MSc) in Defence and Strategic Studies from Quaid-e-Azam University, Islamabad, Pakistan. He earned a Bachelor of Law (LLB) from the University of the Punjab, Lahore.

Names of four candidates for the position of caretaker Punjab chief minister had come under consideration. They were former Punjab chief secretaries Nasir Khosa and Kamran Rasool and Justice (r) Sair Ali and former Punjab inspector general of police (IGP) Tariq Saleem Dogar.