After withdrawing the name of Nasir Mehmood Khan Khosa, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) is set to propose the name of former inspector general of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Police Nasir Khan Durrani as caretaker chief minister of Punjab. The PTI came under severe criticism for floating the name of the former bureaucrat, who is considered to be the right hand of the Sharifs, as caretaker chief minister Punjab, leaving it with no option but to withdraw his name within 24 hours of the announcement.
The sources within PTI said that Opposition Leader in Punjab Assembly Mian Mehmoodur Rasheed had to face the music from Imran Khan during a meeting of the party's core committee after a good number of the PTI leaders questioned the "credibility" of the opposition leader.
"How come you'd no idea about the person whom you endorsed as caretaker chief minister? Did you see the reaction in media, and rightly so as senior leadership of the party thinks twice in such matter," Imran was quoted grilling Mehmoodur Rasheed.
Nasir Khan Durrani, a credible officer of police service of Pakistan who left his mark as inspector general of KP police, has emerged as the most potential candidate for the key slot of caretaker chief minister Punjab, the sources said.
"Imran Khan was keen to nominate Durrani from the day one, but then I don't know how Mehmoodur Rasheed along with some other leader convinced him. But when the media took up the matter, Khan had to reject Khosa's candidature in a meeting of the PTI core committee," said a senior PTI leader.
He said that Durrani, who is currently working as member Punjab Public Service Commission (PPSC), is the most suitable person, and hopefully he will also be acceptable to PML-N given his integrity and impartiality.
"There could be no better choice that Durrani as we all know he is a brutal honest officer," he added.
The sources said that PTI chairman has given standing orders to senior party leaders to be very careful while guiding the party in such sensitive matters. "Any attempt to mislead the leadership by anyone, if proved, will result in expulsion of the person from the party," a visibly perturbed Khan was quoted by a senior PTI leader present in the core committee meeting which held here on Wednesday.
PTI central leadership approved the names of Himayatullah and Ejaz Qureshi for the caretaker CM KP and PTI also withdrew the nomination of Nasir Khosa for caretaker CM Punjab. The decision was taken after public reaction, the PTI said.
Talking to journalists after the core committee meeting, PTI Central Information Secretary Fawad Chaudhry said that Khosa's name was given by the party considering his qualifications and his track record. However, he said that there was an immediate reaction on social media, conventional media and within the party itself following the announcement.
He said that the party is withdrawing the name "since elections are a very sensitive issue and conducting elections in Pakistan is a very difficult job so it won't be appropriate for a controversy to be created and allowed to grow."
Interestingly, the name of Nasir Mahmood Khosa, a former federal finance secretary who has also served as the chief secretary of Punjab and Balochistan, had been proposed by the PTI itself and finalized after much haggling by Sharif and Rasheed in a meeting.
This is the second withdrawal of an already nominated caretaker chief minister in recent days. The PTI was earlier forced to withdraw the name of Manzoor Afridi for caretaker CM of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa after severe backlash from other parties in the province, who had pointed to his (Afridi's) deep ties to a PTI lawmaker and other party sympathizers.
During the core committee meeting, the PTI demanded probe into Rs 166 billion corruption in at least 56 companies functioning under the Punjab government, which is pointed out by audit officials.
The party also rejected the last minute appointment by Punjab government as it has recently appointed a female advocate general including some other appointments despite ban on hiring by Election Commission of Pakistan ahead of elections.
The PTI termed the appointment of Advocate General Punjab along with fourteen law officers as well as chairpersons PEMRA, HEC, PIA and CAA reprehensible. Ali Jahangir Siddiqui's appointment as ambassador to the US was also criticized.
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