Rana Sanaullah, leader of Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) and former law minister Punjab, said on Thursday that PML-N has reservations over the appointment of Dr Hasan Askari as caretaker Chief Minister Punjab.
He remarked, “We have reservations with Dr Askari as he is very vocal against PML-N.”
He further said, “Dr Askari has always targeted our party.”
Sana expressed reservations saying, “He does not believe in democracy and cannot be expected to ensure work is done on merit and without bias.”
He added, “We have issued a written statement over reservations on Dr Askari’s appointment and we can challenge it.”
The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) nominated Professor Dr Hasan Askari Rizvi as caretaker Chief Minister of Punjab on Thursday.
Earlier today, the matter was forwarded to the Election Commission when both the former chief minister Shahbaz Sharif and opposition leader failed to reach a consensus on the name of caretaker chief minister for the province.
Later on, a parliamentary committee was formed to nominate a name for caretaker CM but the committee meeting ended with a deadlock after the representatives of government and opposition failed to propose a name for the interim setup.
According to ECP, the government had suggested Justice (retd) Sair Ali and Admiral (retd) M Zakaullah’s names for the post, while the opposition had suggested names of Ayaz Amir and Dr Hasan Askari .
The name of Dr Hassan Askari Rizvi was proposed by the opposition after their withdrawal of the name of Nasir Mahmood Khosa.
The former opposition leader Mahmood-ur-Rasheed said that defence and political analyst Dr Hassan Askari is "neutral and intelligent. He not only criticises PML-N's policies but PTI's as well."
Dr Hassan Askari is a Pakistani academician, a political scientist and military analyst. He is known for his work in comparative politics, nuclear weapons and the country's domestic policy.
Dr Askari is currently serving as professor emeritus of political science at his alma mater, University of the Punjab.
He also served as a visiting professor of Pakistan Studies at Columbia University from January 1996 to July 1999. During 1988 to 1991, Dr Askari served as the Allama Iqbal Professor at Heidelberg University of Germany.
In 2010, the professor was awarded Sitara-e-Imtiaz.
He has also published a number of books, including 'Military, State and Society in Pakistan' and 'Pakistan and the geo-strategic Environment' among others.