Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) will accept any decision of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) if the Parliamentary Committee tasked with the appointment of caretaker Prime Minister referred the matter to the commission, Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan said on Friday.
The Leader of Opposition of the out-going National Assembly Friday expressed these views at a press conference in front of Parliament at a time when the meeting of the Parliamentary Committee was under way. He said: "We will respect and accept the decision taken by the ECP. We need not be worried if the Committee fails on evolving a consensus. There is a way in the Constitution and all names (of prospective candidates) would (automatically) be referred to the ECP."
Answering a question, Chaudhry Nisar said that the PML-N had given names for caretaker Prime Minister after consultation with all opposition parties except JUI-F. He said that the nominees for the post of caretaker premier had no association with the PML-N. Chaudhry Nisar alleged that decisions taken in Sindh were against the 18th, 19th and 20th Constitutional amendments.
The PPP did not consult any other party and the opposition's role was played by MQM, one of its former allies, he said. The PML-N leader said that Governor Sindh Ishratul Ebad had sent a message to PML-Functional's Chief Pir Pagara to nominate members of his party to be part of the interim setup in the province.
Answering a question about why he had not consulted the JUI-F, Nisar said that the JUI-F had refused to be part of the deliberations. Answering another question, Nisar said that he did not believe in 'back door channels' and all steps taken by him were according to law and Constitution.
Commenting on objections over the government's nominees for caretaker prime minister, Nisar said names proposed by the PPP were closely affiliated with the party and its co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari, adding that the opposition's nominees had no affiliation with the PML-N. He said that Nasir Aslim Zahid was a highly reputed judge and he did not take oath under the Provisional Constitutional Order (PCO).