KARACHI - The ruling PPP and MQM on Sunday formally held consultations about a caretaker chief minister, as a new name of former bureaucrat Qazi Fazullah has come under discussion in meeting of the two parties.
After party’s provincial executive committee meeting at Chief Minister’s House, Qaim held a one-on-one meeting with Governor Sindh Dr Ishratul Ebad and discussed the party’s names for the caretaker chief minister. After the meeting, the governor and the CM jointly chaired the meeting of the PPP and the MQM at the Governor’s House. PPP leaders Agha Siraj Durrani, Ayaz Soomro and Syed Murad Ali Shah assisted the Sindh Chief Minister, while MQM’s opposition leader in the Sindh Assembly, Syed Sardar Ahmed, Dr Sagheer Ahmed and Faisal Sabzwari along with the governor represented the MQM in the negotiations. The MQM team asked the Sindh Chief Minister and PPP team to support any one of the five names includes Justice (retired) Nasir Aslam Zahid, Justice (retired) Ghaus Muhammad, Justice (retired) Munib Ahmed Khan, Justice (retired) Mahmood Alam Rizvi and Barrister Haibur Rehman, suggested by the party for the caretaker chief minister.
Sources said that after discussion and consultation between two sides led by CM and Governor, the MQM floated the name of former bureaucrat Qazi Fazullah for the slot of the caretaker Chief Minister of Sindh.
The PPP’s senior leader confidently told The Nation that the PPP and MQM will reach consensus for the caretaker chief minister.
A PPP leader said that the party has decided to bring the non-political personality as caretaker chief minister in the Sindh province. However, the names of the Justice ® Deedar Hussain Shah and Justice ® Hamid Mirza are on the top of priority list of the ruling PPP for the caretaker chief minister of Sindh. But PPP it is expected that the PPP will agree on the name of former bureaucrat Qazi Fazullah for the caretaker chief minister.
The both sides decided to continue the consultation on the names for caretaker chief minister.
Meanwhile, the opposition leader of MQM in the Sindh Assembly has already forwarded the five names for the slot of caretaker chief minister, of which majority are retired judges. However, the ruling PPP has not yet forwarded the names to the opposition leader for caretaker chief minister as various names are still under consideration at the party leadership.
Sources in the party said that ruling PPP wanted decision on the caretaker prime minister first as it may require the vote of the MQM if matter referred to the parliamentary committee.
A meeting between Chief Minister Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah and Opposition leader Syed Sardar Ahmed was supposedly to be held today on Sunday evening for consultation on the caretaker chief minister. But Qaim Ali Shah was busy in consultation with the party leaders on the matter, so his formal meeting with the opposition leader delayed.
In this regard, the opposition leader of MQM in Sindh Assembly Syed Sardar Ahmed in his media talk on Sunday said that he made attempts to contact with the Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah but all efforts went in vain as chief executive of the province didn’t talk him so far.
Sardar said that now the decision to contact with the Chief Minister would be taken by his party’s coordination committee as he approached for six times but CM didn’t respond him.
It may be noted that other opposition parties-PML-F of Pir Pagara, NPP of Ghulam Murtaza Jatoi and PML-Likeminded of Arbab Ghulam Rahim handed over the six names for the caretaker chief minister to the Opposition leader Syed Sardar. The PML-F and NPP jointly forwarded six names for the post of caretaker Chief Minister includes agriculturist Khair Muhammad Junejo, who served as federal minister for agriculture in the first cabinet of Army chief Pervez Musharraf, the second name is former Chief Secretary of Sindh Aslam Sanjrani and third name is former permanent representative in the United Nations Abdullah Hussain Haroon.
Meanwhile, the PML-Likeminded of Arbab Gulam Rahim has forwarded the three names including former Chief Justice of Pakistan Syed Sajad Ali Shah, Dr Azeem Almani and former Sindh High Court’s Judge Muhammad Sadiq Legari for the post of caretaker chief minister.
But MQM’s opposition leader Syed Sardar Ahmed ignored all the names suggested by PML-F and PML-Likeminded and forwarded their own five names to the Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah.  The PML-F, NPP and other opposition parties said that the neither MQM nor the government has contacted them for caretaker chief minister.