PESHAWAR: Former Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chief minister Mahmood Khan Sunday said that Justice (retd) Arshad Hussain Shah’s name has been finalised for the new caretaker chief minister.
Shah was serving as the law minister in former CM Muhammad Azam Khan’s cabinet. Before joining the cabinet he had also served as the chief justice of the Gilgit Baltistan.
The name of Shah has been sent to KP Governor Haji Ghulam Ali for approval, sources told Geo News.
The decision comes a day after caretaker CM Muhammad Azam Khan passed away due to a heart attack. He was appointed as the caretaker chief minister in January this year following the dissolution of the provincial assembly by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)-led government.
His demise plunged KP into a constitutional crisis, after which meetings to appoint the province’s new chief executive accelerated on Sunday, official sources said.
Mahmood, who is also a leader of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Parliamentarians (PTI-P), and opposition leader Akram Khan Durrani held the meeting to discuss the appointment of the new CM.
Ahead of their meeting, Durrani said that KP had plunged into a crisis after Azam’s death. He added that the matter of appointment will be resolved today.Â
“I will discuss the appointment of interim CM with preparation. I will also convince Mahmood Khan as no one rejects my suggestions,” he had said.
Earlier, Governor Ali had written a letter to Mahmood and Durrani, asking them to decide on a name for the provincial post.Â
PTI not to accept CM
Meanwhile, PTI leader Zahir Khan Toru said that the party will not accept the new chief minister whose appointment is decided by the former CM and opposition leader.
Toru said that they will move the court if the new chief minister’s appointment is done by Khan and Durrani. He further stressed that the matter should be solved constitutionally, saying that the governor should not make his formulas.
“The new CM chosen by Mahmood Khan, Ghulam Ali and Akram Khan Durrani will be a political one,” he said, adding that a level playing field is not expected from the chosen CM.
