Punjab Chief Minister Najam Sethi on Thursday said that he had made a programme of consultation with political leaders for holding transparent elections and maintaining neutral administration in the process.
For this purpose, he said that he met with leaders of Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q), Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), Jamaat-e-Islami (JI), adding that he would hold a meeting with Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf today (Friday).
He said that the purpose of these meetings with various political forces was to gauge views on who were honest, hard working and dedicated officers. He expressed satisfaction that no political leader had suggested the name of a relative, which made his job easier.
Furthermore, he said that the decision regarding the inspector general of Punjab was still pending, adding that he had held consultations with chief election commissioner regarding changes in bureaucracy. He announced that the process would be completed within a week.
The caretaker chief minister said that a caretaker cabinet would be formed within two to three days, adding that it would comprise of five to six ministers and a few more ministers might be added later if a need arose.
He stressed that the cabinet would not consist of members of political parties.
Sethi said that holding free and fair elections was the sole priority of the caretaker setup and the responsibility would be discharged as the number one obligation.
He said that “positive” proposals had been put forward in meetings with political leaders and the leaders of all political parties had stressed the need for posting of an honest, hardworking and neutral administration.
Moreover, he said that the constitution and law would be fully upheld in the holding of peaceful and transparent elections. JI chief Munawar Hassan welcomed Sethi to the caretaker setup and extended full cooperation for holding free and fair elections. He expressed confidence in Sethi and said that people believed that Sethi would dispense his job with responsibility.
