New Punjab governor likely next week

A change of personality at the Punjab Governor House is most likely to take place early next week.
Sources said Makhdoom Ahmad Mahmud will leave Governor House by Monday or Tuesday, setting stage for the appointment of a new governor.
Mahmud had already resigned from the gubernatorial office after the historic defeat of the PPP in general election, saying the new government had the right to bring in a new governor.
The Sharifs however, asked the governor not to insist on quitting before passage of budget from Punjab Assembly. With the provincial budget behind us and the governor fully prepared to leave the historic building and office, Mahmud is more interested in working from Makhdoom House-his personal residence.
He even meets his visitors at his own residence. On Saturday, Opposition Leader in Punjab Assembly Mahmoodur Rasheed called on him at Makhdoom House. Some foreign delegates also visited him there.
Meanwhile, the PML-N government is all set to bring a new face in the Governor House. Sources said Nawaz Sharif had finalised his choice for the new governor which he has not revealed as yet.
“Only two or three people know who the future Punjab governor would be,” a senior PML-N leader said. Sources however, said the new governor would most likely be from southern Punjab to strike a balance between various regions of the province.
Unless there is a dark horse, Senator Rafique Rajwana is being tipped as the favourite for the coveted slot. He is a party loyalist and if the Sharifs want to follow the footsteps of President Zardari, he is also from southern Punjab. Rajwana is a lawyer from Multan and serving his second tenure in Senate from PML-N’s platform.
Others in the race for governorship, according to sources, include Jaffar Iqbal, Zafar Iqbal, Saeed Mehdi, and Dr Al Qama.
The list is conspicuous owing to absence of Sardar Zulfiqar Khosa’s name. Probably, his dreams of staging a comeback to the historic building seem unrealisable right now, save any miracle. It appears that his family’s association with the PPP in the dying days of the last government cost him dearly.