KP takes lead; unveils name for interim CM
16 March, 2013
ISLAMABAD: Taking lead among all provinces, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government and opposition have develop consensus and nominated Justice (r) Tariq Pervez as caretaker chief minister of the province. The announcement was made during a press conference by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ameer Haider Khan Hoti, who was flanked by opposition leader Akram Khan Durrani. They said that to ensure free and fair election in the province, the coalition government and opposition along with its colleagues have nominated Justice (r) Tariq Pervez as caretaker chief minister purely on merit, as he has no political affiliations and everyone is well aware of his services for the country. Justice (r) Tariq Pervez has remained associated with the legal profession for forty years. He worked as a lawyer in the district and high court from 1972-1997. In 1997 he was appointed as a judge of the Peshawar High Court and was elevated to the slot of chief justice in 2005. The chief minister further said that after the 18th Amendment in the constitution, the first step for holding elections was the appointment of a caretaker setup with the consensus of leaders of the House and opposition. The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has taken lead in this regard by selecting a non-controversial figure for the slot. Hoti said it was necessary to nominate a neutral and impartial person to ensure free and transparent elections, and urge other provinces to develop consensus among themselves for caretaker chief ministers. The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chief minister further said that the nomination could not have be finalised without the active support of the opposition leader. "We did not correspond through letters, I went to Akram Durrani and discussed different names and finally nominated Tariq Pervez for the slot of caretaker chief minister of the province," Hoti said. He added that rumours of delay in elections is just a conspiracy theory and there is no truth in it, saying it is important for the country to hold free and fair elections. The chief minister said that Tariq Pervez was ready to take office after dissolution of the provincial assembly. He emphasised that election for the national and provincial assemblies should be held on the same date. Meanwhile, opposition leader in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly Akram Durrani said that all of us should think about the country, which is confronted "too many challenges". "We should keep our petty political interests at bay at this crucial time," he pled while urging other political forces to develop consensus which would be acceptable to the whole nation. Chief Minister Hoti said talks with the Taliban is an ongoing and complicated process which would take time to settle. The all-parties conferences (APC) of the ANP and JUI were successful in this regard, he said, adding that the only way to solve the issue is through continued dialogue process. Durrani urged the president and the upcoming caretaker setup to give importance to the tribal jirga which is also acceptable to Taliban and continue the dialogue process. PPP, MQM exchange names for caretaker CM The PPP-led Sindh government and opposition, represented by MQM, formally exchanged their nominations for the appointment of caretaker chief minister in the province on Friday. PPP put forward two names of former judges of the Supreme Court - Justice (Retd) Hamid Ali Mirza and Justice (Retd) Syed Deedar Hussain Shah. Justice Shah has also served as Chairman National Accountability Bureau (NAB). MQM finalised five names including four former judges of Sindh High Court and a lawyer. Justice (Retd) Nasir Aslam Zahid, Justice (Retd) Mahmood Alam Rizvi, Justice (Retd) Ghous Muhammad, Justice (Retd) Munibur Rehman and Barrister Habibur Rehman were among the nominees decided by MQM. The formal exchange of names was made during a meeting between the opposition leader Syed Sardar Ahmed and Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah at the Sindh CM House on Friday evening. However, both the parties are yet to reach consensus on the proposed names for caretaker CM. Earlier, talking to the media persons at the Sindh Assembly building, Sardar said that he had shared five names with the Sindh CM for the slot. Responding to a question, he said the MQM was the largest opposition party in the assembly and it had also consulted other opposition parties on the matter. It is pertinent to mention here, that opposition's Pakistan Muslim League-Functional (PML-F) and National People's Party (NPP) had suggested three names for the slot, those include Hussain Abdullah Haroon, Khair Muhammad Junejo, and Muhammad Aslam Sanjrani. PML-F leader Jam Madad Ali and NPP leader Masroor Ahmed Jatoi had shared these names with Sardar at a meeting held on Wednesday. Similarly, PML-Like Minded leader, Abdul Razaque Rahimoon had recommended names of former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, Justice (Retd) Syed Sajad Ali Shah, former Sindh High Court judge Muhammad Sadiq Laghari, and politician, Azim Almani's names for office of the caretaker chief minister. End.
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