LAHORE - A parliamentary committee of the Punjab Assembly which was to be constituted by Speaker Mohammad Sibtain Khan to evolve consensus over one name as Punjab caretaker chief minister could not be constituted till 6 pm on Wednesday as the speaker’s office did not receive nominations from the opposition. Talking to The Nation, Punjab Assembly spokesperson confirmed that the parliamentary committee had not been notified as yet as the speaker’s office did not receive any nominations from the opposition leader till late on Wednesday. It is despite the fact that the stipulated constitutional time of three days for the committee to agree over one name for the caretaker CM started at10:10pm (Tuesday) after the chief minister and the opposition leader failed to decide one name within three days. The relevant article of the constitution says that the Assembly speaker will constitute a parliamentary committee immediately after the chief minister and the opposition leader fail to agree on one name. Though the opposition leader and the chief minister have finalized names for the committee in question along with their nominees for the caretaker slot, the same have not been forwarded to the speaker for further action, it has been learnt. The chief minister has finalized three names which include Raja Basharat, Mian Aslam Iqbal and Hashim Jawan Bakht for inclusion in the parliamentary committee. Also, in a letter written to Speaker Punjab Assembly, Opposition leader Hamza Shehbaz has forwarded the names of Malik Muhammad Ahmad Khan, Syed Hassan Murtaza and Malik Nadeem Kamran for the purpose. The letter also includes names of Mohsin Raza Naqvi and Ahad Cheema to be considered for the caretaker CM slot. The chief minister’s nominees include Ahmad Nawaz Sukhera, Nasir Mahmood Khosa and Naseer Ahmad Khan. However, the two sides can change their respective panel of names before the first meeting of the committee. Meanwhile two nominated members for the said committee, Raja Basharat and Mian Aslam Iqbal met with the Punjab Chief Minister Ch Parvez Elahi at CM office on Wednesday to discuss matters pertaining to political situation and appointment of caretaker chief minister. The CM while talking on the occasion stated that he had proposed names of impartial personalities for the caretaker chief minister while the opposition by proposing names of biased personalities had made a mockery of themselves. He said the opposition parties tried to make their politics flourish by proposing names of caretaker chief minister. The CM maintained that whatever the opposition parties desired and dreamt will never be fulfilled. He hoped that the committee headed by the Speaker Punjab Assembly will reach some positive conclusion with regard to the appointment of caretaker chief minister. The committee comprising Raja Basharat, Mian Aslam Iqbal and Hashim Jawan Bakht will do negotiations with an open, he added. “We would strive to reach a consensus on the name of caretaker chief minister as soon as possible. Hopefully, a caretaker CM will be the one on whom no one can point a finger at”, he observed.
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