Imran Ismail to become new Sindh governor

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has decided to appoint Imran Ismail as Sindh governor, a press statement by the party said on Saturday. 

Currently, the post of Sindh governor lies vacant following the resignation by Muhammad Zubair. Imran Ismail, who is considered a close affiliate of Imran Khan, had also won the election in Sindh Assembly constituency PS-111, Karachi.

The PTI has also decided to invite the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President Shahbaz Sharif and Pakistan Peoples’ Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari to the oath-taking ceremony of Imran Khan as prime minister. 

 The PPP senior leader Khursheed Shah will also be invited to the ceremony. The PTI said the name of candidate for the coveted slot of chief minister of Punjab has been finalised which will be announced within 24 to 48 hours.

The PTI has decided to take along the opposition and strengthen parliamentary traditions. These decisions were made at a consultative meeting chaired by Imran Khan on formation of governments at the Centre and in provinces at Banigala. Among others, senior party leaders, including Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Jehangir Tareen, Naeemul Haq, Babar Awan and Asad Qaiser attended the meeting.

Briefing journalists about the meeting, PTI Information Secretary Fawad Chaudhry said out of five seats of the National Assembly where Imran Khan remained successful, the seat from his native town Mianwali would be retained, while four others, namely, Lahore, Islamabad, Bannu and Karachi, would be vacated. 

Fawad said the party had already started consultations over the formation of the Punjab government and key decisions are expected shortly, as the provincial assembly session is being summoned for August 15. He noted that the post of deputy speaker of the provincial legislature would be retained by the PTI.

About the prime minister’s election, Fawad maintained that Imran is poised to receive over 180 votes, while for the provincial governments too, the party has attained comfortable majority. He emphasised that the expenditure of the Prime Minister House, the chief minister houses and governor houses would be curtailed. Fawad reiterated that the new government would focus on economy and creating jobs for which Asad Umar is already taking briefing on key issues, including the FATF.

Meanwhile, in his message on the national day of minorities, Imran pledged that his government would ensure complete religious freedom and work towards welfare of minorities. He expressed the resolve that the government would implement the vision of the founding father Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah about minorities. Imran appreciated the services rendered by the minorities in different spheres of life and maintained that the minorities’ deep devotion and love for Pakistan is exemplary.