The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) will on Sunday evening hold a meeting to choose Punjab's caretaker chief minister, the Dawn reported, adding that the meeting was necessitated as the bi-partisan parliamentary committee established by the Speaker of the Punjab Assembly speaker failed to reach a consensus in the stipulated time.
The meeting chaired by ECP chief Sikandar Sultan Raja will have informal deliberations between the CEC and members of the commission to reach a consensus in the matter, the Dawn reported, citing sources.
The ECP only has time till Sunday to take a decision on the nominee for Punjab's caretaker CM, as the two-day deadline gven by the poll watchdog for the purpose will expire on Sunday, the report.
A senior ECP official said the commission could not meet a day earlier as the Punjab Assembly Speaker Sibtain Khan officially gave them the names of four nominees on Saturday, the Dawn reported.
An ECP official confirmed that the Election Commission of Pakistan will meet its constitutional obligation and announce the name of the Punjab caretaker CM on Sunday, the report said, adding that PML-Q leader and ally of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), Chaudhry Parvez Elahi, has proposed the names fo Sardar Ahmad Nawaz Sukhera and Naveed Akram Cheema as the caretaker Punjab CM.
Meanwhile, PML-N leader Hamza Shehbaz has proposed the names of Mohsin Naqvi and Ahad Cheema for the position of Punjab's caretaker CM, the report stated further, adding that the decision on the appointment of the caretaker Punjab CM faced an unusual delay after the dissolution of the Punjab Assembly last week.
According to the constitution, the committee has three days to choose one of the four nominees, the Dawn reported. However, the committee was left with only one day to consider the four names due to a delay in the notification for establishing the panel.
Senior PTI leader Fawad Chaudhry said the ECP will choose one of the four nominees under Article 244-A of the Constitution within two days, as per the news report. He stated that ECP had no authority to nominate a person of their choice for the position of caretaker CM.
On January 14, the provincial assembly (PA) in Pakistan's Punjab was dissolved after Governor Baligh Ur Rehman said he decided not to become a part of the process, the Dawn reported.
Baligh Ur Rehman tweeted, "I have decided not to become part of the process leading to the dissolution of Punjab Assembly. I would rather let the Constitution and law take its own course. Doing so will not hamper any legal process as Constitution clearly provides a way forward."
A post on the Punjab governor's Twitter handle read that the Provincial Assembly of Punjab and the Cabinet stands dissolved, the Dawn reported.
The notification regarding the appointment of the caretaker chief minister was sent to Punjab Chief Minister Chaudhry Parvez Elahi and Leader of the Opposition in the Punjab Assembly, Hamza Shahbaz.
( With inputs from ANI )
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