The provincial governments are expected to hold a meeting on Monday to discuss measures to appoint interim chief ministers before the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) completes its tenure on May 31.
In this regard, Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah will meet Sindh Assembly Opposition Leader Khawaja Izharul Hassan.
Punjab Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif was due to hold a meeting with Punjab Assembly Opposition Leader Mian Mehmoodur Rasheed but it was postponed to a later date.
On the other hand, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Chief Minister Pervez Khattak remarked on Sunday that they had not finalised any name for the office of caretaker chief minister of the province.
He rejected the allegations that the chief minister and opposition leader in the KP Assembly had been bribed by a business tycoon for finalising his name as the caretaker chief minister.
After the news emerged that Manzoor Afridi had been appointed as KP’s caretaker chief minister, the rival political parties such as Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and Awami National Party (ANP) rejected the candidate and accused Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and Jamiat Ulema-e Islam (F) of corruption.
PPP’s Nafeesa Shah remarked that Manzoor Afridi is a donor of JUI-F, while his brother Senator Ayub Afridi is a donor of PTI. “This is the real face of Imran Khan and Fazlur Rehman’s politics.”
ANP’s Mian Iftikhar Hussain alleged that the interim CM belongs to both PTI and JUI-F and that free and fair election will not be possible if Afridi is overseeing them.
PTI spokesperson Fawad Chaudhry, however, claimed that Manzoor Afridi’s name was given by the opposition and the CM has just given the approval.
Balochistan govt and the opposition are yet to reach consensus over interim CM. Balochistan Chief Minister Abdul Qudus Bizenjo and Balochistan Assembly Opposition Leader Abdul Rahim Ziaratwal have remained unable to reach any consensus regarding the caretaker CM.
During the first meeting, government and opposition proposed eight names each. Out of the 16 names, five were shortlisted. The government recommended Alauddin Marri, Minister for Environment Prince Ahmed Ali, and former senator Kamran Murtaza for the interim chief minister while the opposition suggested former ambassador Qazi Ashraf and former speaker Aslam Bhotani.
The matter is expected to be sent to a parliamentary committee.