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Talks ongoing to pick caretaker CM days after Punjab assembly dissolved in blow to government

Pakistani legislators of Punjab province take oath in the first assembly session in Lahore on April 9, 2008. (AFP/File)
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Updated 16 January 2023
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Talks ongoing to pick caretaker CM days after Punjab assembly dissolved in blow to government

  • The 17th Provincial Assembly of the Punjab was dissolved on January 14
  • Analysts say political pressure from assembly dissolution plays into hands of ex-PM Khan
Updated 16 January 2023
Aamir Saeed

ISLAMABAD: Negotiations are ongoing for the appointment of a caretaker chief minister in Pakistan's most populous province of Punjab, with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s ruling party remaining tight-lipped over its candidates while the rival Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party has forwarded three names for the slot to the provincial governor. 

The discussions come days after the 17th provincial assembly of Punjab was dissolved on January 14. As per the law, the province has to elect a new legislature no later than April 14. 

Punjab is home to more than half of Pakistan's population of over 220 million, and is one of two provinces ruled by ex-PM Imran Khan's PTI party. PTI members have also announced they will dissolve the local assembly of the other province it rules, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. 

Political analysts say the new pressure created after the Punjab assembly's dissolution plays into Khan's demand for an early election, although any local assembly elections do not constitutionally trigger a national election.
On Monday, Punjab Governor Baligh-ur-Rehman said he had received three names for caretaker CM from Khan ally Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi, which were being “forwarded to Opposition Leader Hamza Shehbaz Sharif.”  

“I would like to see both of the leaders jointly agree on any name within the stipulated time,” the governor said in a statement. 

Elahi, the outgoing chief minister, has suggested the names of Sardar Ahmed Nawaz Sukhera, Nasir Mahmood Khosa and Muhammad Naseer Khan for the caretaker CM's post.  

PM Sharif on Monday held a meeting with senior party leaders in Lahore to discuss his side's names for the interim chief minister, but the party had yet to make an announcement. 

Arab News tried reaching several members of the PML-N via calls and texts, but could get a comment on the appointment of the interim chief minister and the party’s strategy for the upcoming elections.  

Both the chief minister and the opposition leader are required to forward three names to the governor within three days of the dissolution of the provincial assembly, which falls tomorrow, January 17. If the chief minister and the leader of the opposition fail to agree on any name, they are then to forward two nominees each to a parliamentary committee to be constituted by the provincial assembly speaker, according to the constitution. 

This committee comprises six members of the outgoing provincial assembly, having equal representation from the treasury and the opposition. The members are nominated by the chief minister and the opposition leader. The committee has the mandate to finalize a name for the interim chief minister's post within three days of “the referral of the matter to it.”  

“Provided that in case of inability of the Committee to decide the matter in the aforesaid period, the names of the nominees shall be referred to the Election Commission of Pakistan for final decision within two days,” the constitution says.  

The provincial governor is empowered under the constitution to appoint members of the caretaker cabinet on the advice of the interim chief minister. However, members of the caretaker CM’s family and his cabinet are not eligible to contest the immediate election.  

Syed Hassan Murtaza, the Pakistan Peoples Party's (PPP) parliamentary leader in the outgoing Punjab Assembly, said his party was discussing names for the slot of the caretaker chief minister in Punjab, but the process “had yet to be completed.”  

“The senior leadership of our party is considering different names for the slot and hopefully, we’ll be able to announce it soon,” he told Arab News. 

Both the PPP and the Sharif-led PML-N are coalition partners in the center. 

Experts said it was the responsibility of the election commission to hold free and fair elections in Punjab, following the installation of a caretaker government.  

“The election commission has adequate powers under the constitution to ensure a level playing field for all the contesting candidates in the elections,” Rashid Chaudhry, a deputy director at the Islamabad-based Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN) advocacy group, told Arab News.  

“The electoral body has the capacity and all the resources to hold transparent elections and all political parties should trust it fully for a transparent electoral process.”

Topics: Pakistan chief minister Punjab

Over 50 feared dead in Karachi shopping plaza fire, officials say

Updated 5 sec ago
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Over 50 feared dead in Karachi shopping plaza fire, officials say

  • Search teams recover 14 bodies as officials warn toll may rise sharply
  • Traders seek urgent compensation after 1,200 shops destroyed in blaze
Updated 5 sec ago
NAIMAT KHAN

ISLAMABAD: Pakistani authorities warned on Monday the death toll from a massive fire at a shopping plaza in Karachi could exceed 50, as recovery operations continued a day after the blaze destroyed over 1,200 shops in one of the city’s busiest commercial districts.

The fire broke out late Saturday at Gul Plaza in Karachi’s Saddar business area and spread rapidly through multiple floors. Firefighters battled for more than 24 hours to bring the blaze under control, which was fully extinguished by Monday, officials said, with cooling and debris removal now underway.

Deadly fires in commercial buildings are a recurring problem in Karachi, a city of more than 20 million people, where overcrowding, outdated infrastructure and weak enforcement of fire safety regulations have repeatedly resulted in mass casualties and economic losses.

During a meeting at the Chief Minister’s House on Monday, officials briefed Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah that 14 bodies had so far been recovered from the site, while the overall death toll could climb significantly as debris is cleared.

“Estimated fatalities could exceed 50,” the Sindh chief minister’s office said in a statement, quoting officials who briefed Shah on the scale of the disaster.

Shah was told that the shopping plaza, built over roughly 8,000 square yards, housed around 1,200 shops, leaving an equal number of traders suddenly without livelihoods. Shah said all affected shopkeepers would be rehabilitated and announced the formation of a committee to recommend compensation amounts and a recovery plan.

“The Gul Plaza building will be rebuilt, and we want to decide how the affected traders can be given shops immediately so their businesses can resume,” Shah said, according to the statement.

Officials said firefighting operations involved 16 fire tenders and water bowzers, with 50 to 60 firefighters taking part. The Karachi Water Board supplied more than 431,000 gallons of water during the operation, while Rescue 1122 ambulances reached the site within minutes of the first alert.

Authorities said access constraints inside the building, along with intense smoke, hampered rescue efforts in the early stages of the fire. A firefighter was among those killed, officials said, noting that his father had also died in the line of duty years earlier.

The provincial government ordered an immediate forensic investigation to determine the cause of the blaze, directing the chief secretary to notify a fact-finding committee. Shah also instructed that debris removal begin without delay so recovery teams could continue searching for victims.

The tragedy has also heightened anxiety within Karachi’s business community. 

The Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) has formed a dedicated committee to document losses, coordinate relief and press the government for compensation, saying preliminary assessments indicate more than 1,000 small and medium-sized businesses were completely destroyed.

Ateeq Mir, a traders’ representative, has estimated losses from the fire at over $10 million.

“There is no compensation for life, but we will try our best that the small businessmen who have suffered losses here are compensated in a transparent manner,” Shah told reporters on Sunday night.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has offered full federal support to provincial authorities, stressing the need for a “coordinated and effective system” to control fires quickly in densely populated urban areas and prevent similar tragedies in the future.

Battling large fires in Karachi’s congested commercial districts remains notoriously difficult. Many markets and plazas are built with narrow access points, encroachments and illegal extensions that block fire tenders, while buildings often lack functioning fire exits, alarms or sprinkler systems. 

Although safety regulations exist, enforcement is sporadic, allowing hazardous wiring and flammable materials to go unchecked — conditions that enable fires to spread rapidly and magnify human and economic losses.

Topics: Pakistan Karachi plaza mall fire

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