Mohsin Naqvi likely to become Punjab caretaker CM

LAHORE: Senior Journalist Mohsin Naqvi has emerged as hot favorite for the coveted slot of Chief Minister and is likely to be sovereign as Caretaker CM Punjab by The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), Bol News has learnt.

It is pertinent to mention that Chief Minister Punjab Chaudhry Parvez Elahi in consultation with Imran Khan has nominated former Bureaucrat Nasir Saeed Khosa, a serving bureaucrat Ahmed Nawaz Sukehra and former Health Minister Naseer Khan for the caretaker chief minister slot.

Meanwhile, the Opposition Leader Hamza Shehbaz has given the names of Senior Journalist Syed Mohsin Raza Naqvi (Mohsin Naqvi) and former bureaucrat and Adviser to PM Ahad Khan Cheema.

But both parties failed to agree on one name for the coveted post after which the Speaker Punjab Assembly Muhammad Sibtain Khan had formed a parliamentary committee composed of members of opposition and treasury benches. From the treasury side the members are former provincial ministers Mian Aslam Iqbal, Raja Basharat and Makhdoom Hashim Jawan Bakht. The opposition members on the committee includes PML-N’s Malik Ahmed Khan, PPP’s Syed Hassan Murtaza and PML-N’s Malik Nadeem Kamran.

According to political insiders, “Consensus on caretaker CM Punjab is unlikely to be reached on one name and the matter will go to the ECP.”

Sources maintained that after Nasir Khosa sahib’s refusal to become caretaker CM who would have been a consensus candidate of both the opposition and treasury benches, Mohsin Naqvi is the only contender who could become CM Punjab.

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Sources said that Ahmed Nawaz Sukehra is a wonderful career bureaucrat who is well educated, visionary, non-partisan and apolitical but he is a serving bureaucrat and a dual national. Whereas, Naseer Khan who had also served as Health Minister during General Musharraf’s era is also a dual national which makes their chances very bleak to become caretaker CM Punjab.

“Sukhera is a serving bureaucrat and will retire on January 31 and the decision about the caretaker CM Punjab would be made before his retirement that is why he won’t be in the race,” sources said.

Acclaimed legal expert Barrister Ahmad Pansota told Bol News, “Don’t think that dual nationals could become CM Punjab as it is a gray area.”

Agreeing with him, sources maintained that dual nationals cannot be installed at any position in which oath taking is involved. “They could become advisers but not CM or PM.”

Whereas, Ahad Cheema, who is the former Director General Lahore Development Authority (LDA) is a close aide of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and was allegedly involved in corruption scams including Ashiana Housing Scheme and took early retirement and is currently on bail.

“Cheema is currently serving as adviser to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on establishment and he cannot be inducted as CM Punjab due to conflict of interest as he cannot remain apolitical,” sources said.

In such a situation Mohsin is the most serious candidate for the CM slot and he is likely to be sovereign as Caretaker CM Punjab.

Mohsin is a career journalist who had covered the war on terror from Afghanistan in CNN after 9/11 and had also served as CNN’s regional producer and bureau chief in Pakistan. In 2009 he formed a city news network and started his own TV channel City42 and is currently running city021, city041, UK44, Rohi News, 24 News and a daily newspaper City42.