Aftab Sultan’s no to Punjab caretaker CM

LAHORE: Former Intelligence Bureau Director-General Aftab Sultan has excused himself from serving as caretaker Punjab chief minister ahead of general elections 2018.

Sultan was among the four people proposed by Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Shahbaz Sharif to the provincial opposition leader for provincial caretaker chief minister slot.

The other three people nominated for the slot are ex-naval chief Admiral Zakaullah, Justice (R) Sair Ali, and former inspector general police Tariq Saleem Dogar. Shahbaz put forward the names after discussion with former prime minister Nawaz Sharif during a meeting of PML-N leaders in Model Town, Lahore, sources told Geo News. “The meeting was presided over by former prime minister Nawaz Sharif and attended by Marriyum Aurangzeb, Saad Rafique and Rana Sanaullah among others discussed the current political situation of the country and caretaker CM setup,” sources said.

A day earlier, confusion surrounded the list of candidates suggested by PTI for the caretaker chief minister of Punjab.

After Opposition leader and outgoing PTI parliamentary leader, Mahmoodur Rasheed presented the names of Orya Maqbool Jan, Yaqub Izhar, and Hassan Askari, party spokesperson Fawad Chaudhry later took to Twitter to announce the candidates proposed as caretaker CM which did not include Orya’s name.

“PTI has proposed three names to be appointed as caretaker Punjab CM. 1)Hassan Askari 2) Ayaz Amir 3) Yaqub Izhar, while agreement on one name is expected by tomorrow evening,” the party’s spokesperson confirmed on Twitter.