All the political parties on Saturday agreed on the name of Justice (r) Nasir Aslam Zahid for the post of caretaker prime minister. Justice Nisar’s name was proposed by the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N). Other names under consideration included Justice (r) Nasir Aslam Zahid, former Supreme Court Bar Association president Asma Jahangir, and Pakistan’s permanent representative to the United Nations Abdullah Hussain Haroon. The government’s political allies and the opposition parties criticised the names of Asma Jahangir and Abdullah Haroon, arguing that the caretaker prime minister should be impartial as the elections depends on him. Some political parties opposed the Jahangir and Haroon because of their close ties with President Asif Ali Zardari. Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf and National Assembly Opposition Leader Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan have agreed upon the name of Justice (r) Nasir Aslam Zahid. Justice (r) Nasir Aslam Zahid was one of the judges who had refused to take oath under the PCO in the regime of former military ruler Pervez Musharraf. He is currently engaged with a private organisation working to free Pakistani prisoners from Indian jails. On the other hand, Chaudhry Nisar told a private TV channel that there was no agreement yet between the government and PML-N on the name for caretaker prime minister.
