Caretaker ministers appointed without consulting PTI leadership: ex-CM

NOWSHERA: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa former chief minister Mahmood Khan on Thursday complained that the leadership of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) had not been consulted in picking up caretaker provincial cabinet members to fulfill the constitutional obligation.

“The Pakistan Democratic Movement [PDM] government has chosen KP caretaker ministers without consulting the PTI leadership and distributed ministries to the blue-eyed persons as most of the cabinet members are political workers,” Mahmood Khan said while talking to The News.

The former chief minister from the PTI said that he knew well who had made the recommendations and vowed to make revelations in a few days to let the masses know the factual situation.

He alleged the leaders of PTI were being pushed to the wall despite the fact they had agreed on the name recommended by the opposition for the caretaker chief minister’s slot as per the Pakhtuns’ traditions.

“The repercussions would be disastrous for the province if the KP interim government influenced the elections,” he warned, urging the provincial government to ensure fair, free and transparent polls in the province.

Mahmood Khan said that he was leaving for Lahore to consult the party chief Imran Khan on important matters and would unveil facts at a press conference to tell the people how the PTI was ditched in the process of selection of the interim cabinet.

“Neither we were consulted nor a single minister recomemended by our party was inducted in the cabinet,” Mahmood Khan said, alleging that provincial ministers seemed to be the members of B team of PDM.

He advised the relevant quarters that elections should not be made disputed with such unwise decisions that created doubts in the minds of people. “We have our own culture and traditions, which we followed and agreed on the name of caretaker CM within a half-hour meeting with the opposition leader Akram Khan Durrani,” he elaborated, saying that they knew about the meetings of KP interim CM in Islamabad with certain persons but they did not hinder the process.

He, however, praised the KP caretaker CM for high moral values and impartiality and hoped the upcoming elections would be held in the province in a free and transparent atmosphere. “We don’t doubt CM’s intention but the decisions being taken will tarnish the image of caretaker setup and seem to be a glaring example of partiality,” he believed, adding that PTI leaders should have been consulted in the formation of the provincial cabinet.