The government and opposition failed to agree on the name of the next Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) as a meeting between Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and opposition leader Khusheed Shah remained inconclusive. An official said the meeting between Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Opposition Leader in National Assembly Syed Khursheed Shah convened to discuss the issue of CEC's appointment also held a discussion on Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf's (PTI) next phase of protest.

The opposition leader reportedly asked the prime minister to initiate talks with PTI. Finance Minister Ishaq Dar was also present in the meeting. Talking to media persons after the meeting, Opposition Leader said the name of Chief Election Commissioner has not been finalised yet. The opposition leader said several names were discussed at length. He said all political parties will be taken into confidence for the nomination of the Chief Election Commissioner. He was hopeful that the two sides would finalise the name before December 5. Shah said there is still space to further reduce the prices of petroleum products.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2014