The PTI and the PML-Q on Sunday decided on three candidates – namely Ahmad Nawaz Sukhera, Naseer Ahmad Khan and Nasir Saeed Khosa – as their nominees for the caretaker Punjab chief minister.
Sukhera is a bureaucrat presently serving as Secretary Cabinet Division, Khan is a former federal health minister, and Khosa is a retired civil servant.
Outgoing Punjab chief minister Chaudhry Parvez Elahi announced the above names for caretaker CM on Sunday night, saying that the selection was made by Imran Khan himself, and that these names would now be sent to Punjab Governor Balighur Rehman. Elahi will continue as chief minister until the caretaker chief minister is appointed and takes oath.
Elahi announced the names of the three candidates while speaking to the media outside Imran Khan’s Zaman Park residence in Lahore, where the two deliberated on the potential candidates.
چیئرمین پاکستان تحریک انصاف عمران خان سے ملاقات.عمران خان سے نگران وزیر اعلی کے ناموں پر مشاورت ہوئی..ہم نے گورنر پنجاب کو نگران وزیر اعلی کیلئے تین نام دینے ہیں. pic.twitter.com/RM4OZZUE0G
— Ch Parvez Elahi (@ChParvezElahi) January 15, 2023
On Thursday, Elahi had signed a summary to dissolve the Punjab Assembly. In a brief one-line letter addressed to Governor Balighur Rehman, Elahi said: “I Parvez Elahi, chief minister of Punjab, hereby advise you to dissolve the provincial assembly.”
On Saturday 14 January, the Punjab provincial assembly automatically stood dissolved after Rehman refused to sign Elahi’s summary.
Elahi urged the PDM to “think with an open heart” and said that if they did, he could see consensus being reached. He went on to say that in a consultative meeting on Monday (today), further discussions would be held on the nominees.
