---- Arrest warrants for Shahabuddin force PPP to rethink nomination
---- Khurshid Shah scheduled to announce final name today at 11am
The sources said the PPP had decided to field Raja Pervaiz Ashraf as party's leading candidate for prime minister's slot after it dropped the name of Makhdoom Shahabuddin due to issuance of arrest warrants for the latter. In the meeting, the sources said, the leadership of PML-Q showed reservations on the candidature of Qamar Zaman Kaira due to political rivalries as the Chaudhries and Kaira hail from the same Gujrat district. A meeting of allied parties was held Thursday night at Aiwan-e-Sadr with Co-Chairman PPP President Asif Ali Zardari in chair.
Those who were present included Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, Chaudhry Pervez Ilahi, Dr Farooq Sattar, Mir Israrullah Zehri, Afrasiab Khattak, Munir Khan Aurakzai, Babar Ghauri, Hameed ullah Jan Afridi, Haider Abbas Rizvi, Senator Abbas Khan Afridi, Mohammad Jadim Mangrio and Syed Khursheed Shah. Vice Chairman PPP and former Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani were also present.
Spokesperson for the President Senator Farhatullah Babar said the meeting was part of a consultative process of the allied parties to discuss the prevailing situation and to finalise the strategy with a view to taking democratic process forward. He said the coalition partners announced their support to a PPP nominee as the candidate for the office of the Prime Minister.
The sudden filing of nomination papers by Qamar Zaman Kaira was an indication that Makhdoom Shahabuddin may no longer be the candidate in the race for premiership. The coalition partners held discussion to find a way out of the complex situation arising out of the arrest warrants for Makhdoom Shahabuddin. But, they remained unable to reach an agreement on the final name till late night. Political analysts said that Kaira could be the prospective candidate for the Prime Minister's slot for he carried a clear image.
Earlier, as many as five candidates on Thursday submitted their nomination papers to the Speaker National Assembly for the election of new prime minister. They were three from Pakistan People's Party (PPP) and one each from Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F). Two PPP candidates - Makhdoom Shahabuddin and Raja Pervez Ashraf - submitted their nomination papers Thursday morning. Later, an hour before the 2pm deadline, the third PPP candidate Qamar Zaman Kaira filed his papers to the Speaker National Assembly. PML-N and JUI-F fielded Sardar Mehtab Abbasi and Maulana Fazlur Rehman, respectively, in the race for the premiership.
After submitting nomination papers, Makhdoom Shahabuddin thanked the PPP leadership, party workers and coalition partners for showing confidence in him. He also extended greetings to members of PPP on the 59th anniversary of Benazir Bhutto. "I am thankful to those who proposed and seconded me. Today is a special day because it is Benazir Bhutto's birthday and I send my congratulations on her birthday to all party workers," he said while addressing the media.
After completion of process of filing nomination papers, Speaker National Assembly Dr Fehmida Mirza scrutinised them. The PML-N members objected to the nomination of PPP's Makhdoom Shahabuddin and Raja Pervez Ashraf. According to the PML-N members, Shahabuddin is involved in a drug case while Raja has committed financial corruption in Rental Power Projects (RPPs). The Speaker overruled their objections. She approved the nomination papers of all the five candidates.
During the process of filing nomination papers, an anti-narcotics court issued non-bailable arrest warrants of Makhdoom Shahabuddin and Ali Musa Gilani in ephedrine case. However, the sources said the PPP dropped the name of Makhdoom Shahabuddin due to his alleged involvement in the ephedrine scandal case.
President Asif Ali Zardari already has summoned the session of the National Assembly today (Friday) to elect new Prime Minister of Pakistan after disqualification of Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani by the Supreme Court. Speaker National Assembly Dr Fehmida Mirza will chair the proceedings of the House. After the election, the winner will emerge as Prime Minister-elect till he takes oath of the office to become prime minister.