Slot of caretaker Prime Minister: opposition agrees on names of two former Supreme Court judges

Opposition parties have agreed upon names of two former judges of the Supreme Court as candidates for the post of caretaker prime minister, Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan said on Friday. Talking to media persons outside the Parliament House, Chaudhry Nisar said that opposition parties had held consultations in this regard and achieved a consensus.
In this regard, he said that his party would hold talks with the government about the caretaker set-up for holding the upcoming elections. Accusing Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI), Tahirul Qadri and Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) of wanting to delay the general elections, Chaudhry Nisar said that those who had been objecting over the Election Commission had approved the election commission set up during the Musharraf regime.
He said that PML-Q and PTI had earlier agreed on the formation of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) and both parties had later taken a U-turn. "The conspiracy behind this U-turn would be foiled," he asserted. He claimed that PTI chief Imran Khan was not empowered to make decisions on behalf of his party, adding that others in the PTI had the clout to negate him.
Qadri's statements were now being favoured by PML-Q leaders, he said, asking if they had been asleep when the bill on restructuring the ECP had been moved in the lower house of parliament. The Opposition Leader said that PML-N did not accept the deal between the government and Tahirul Qadri. In response to a question, he said that PML-N would not discuss the issue of Tahirul Qadri with the government.
About the creation of a new province, he said that Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) would submit its own bill if the government took any unilateral initiative. If the government introduced a bill on new province in the National Assembly, his party would follow suit, he said.
Chaudhry Nisar said that the government had not yet submitted any name for a caretaker prime minister. He said that after his party received the names from the government, the party would first discuss the matter before arriving at any decision. "PML-N opposes the government's bill regarding Zulfikar Ali Bhutto University...the party would also not support the bill to privatise the Higher Education Commission (HEC). Rulers, who had spared nothing in this country, now want to hijack the name of the Quaid-e-Azam," he said.
The leader of the opposition said that it now remained to be seen whether or not PML-Q and MQM supported those who wanted to eradicate the name of the Quaid-e-Azam. According to sources, Chaudhry Nisar is reported to have discussed the names of former Justice Nasir Aslam Zahid and former Justice Ajmal Mian with some opposition parties inside and outside parliament.