ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leadership has mulled over a number of names for the office of the National Assembly speaker and is about to finalise one of them as its election will be held on Monday and nominations will have to be filed by Sunday noon.
“Nothing is yet final,” a senior PML-N leader said. “Several years back, at the last minute the party leadership asked Illahi Bux Soomro to submit his papers for election as speaker.”
He said that the PML-N did not have many options from among a small number of its MPs elected from Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Baluchistan. In addition, he said, most were not the stuff for the speaker’s job.
The PML-N seems to have dropped the idea of having the speaker from one of its allies from a smaller province. At one point of time, Mahmood Khan Achakzai’s name was given a serious thought. Given the importance of the slot, the PML-N wants to have a trusted confidant installed there.
PML-N leader from Baluchistan Lt Gen (ret) Abdul Qadir Baloch, who was the only party stalwart elected from this province, was also taken into consideration, but it was pointed out that having a former general as the head of the top elected body would not give a good message.
The name of suave Sardar Ayaz Sadiq, hailing from Lahore, who defeated Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, has also been seriously bandied about for the berth and has been presented as one of the main contenders.
He is well educated and cool-minded, the attributes that a figure occupying this position is required to possess.
However, the main argument against him is that he belongs to Lahore, from where the next prime minister, the federal finance minister and the Punjab chief minister would come. Having too many top position holders from only one city will not publicly go well.
Pervez Malik’s name has also been considered but he too faces the same ‘disqualification’ of being a Lahorite. He is also brother of noted but controversial lawyer Malik Qayyum. Young Khurram Dastgir’s name too has been taken into consideration, but what goes against him, in the opinion of a PML-N leader, is that he is too young for the tough job.
Internews
