ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari was set to appoint close aide Latif Khosa to succeed the murdered governor of the Punjab province, officials said, another step in resolving a week-long political crisis.
President Zardari was expected to name Khosa, a former attorney general, on Saturday from Karachi.
“Mr Khosa is most likely to be appointed as Punjab governor,” a senior government official said. Other top officials confirmed the appointment was expected.
Khosa told Reuters on Saturday that Zardari had called him along with Defence Minister Ahmed Mukhtar and Finance Minister Hafeez Sheikh for a meeting in Karachi.
“I will accept whatever the decision of my leadership,” he said.
If appointed as expected, Khosa will succeed Salman Taseer, the outspoken governor of the central province of Punjab, who was gunned down by one of his bodyguards in Islamabad on Tuesday for supporting changes in the country’s blasphemy law.
Taseer's murder came as Zardari's coalition was struggling to avoid collapse following the defection of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), one of its main allies, to the opposition.
The choice of who will replace Taseer is crucial. Punjab is the most populated province in Pakistan and its political nerve centre.
Politics in Punjab, which has 183 members in the 342-seat National Assembly, has traditionally dominated Pakistani politics.
Choosing Khosa could mean the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) is seeking to cool temperatures with Nawaz Sharif.
Taseer was fiery and often clashed publicly with Nawaz and his brother, Punjab Chief Minister Shabaz Sharif. Khosa, on the other hand, is soft-spoken and non-confrontational. But he is an ardent supporter of the PPP.
Analysts say Khosa, a lawyer by profession, will try to avoid antagonising the Sharif brothers and their Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) to tamp down disputes that have paralysed the federal government.
Khosa's likely appointment comes just two days before an ultimatum given by Nawaz Sharif to Zardari's government on Tuesday to accept a list of his demands or face expulsion of PPP members from the Punjab provincial government.
The government received a major reprieve on Friday when the MQM, the second biggest coalition partner, which had bolted to the opposition, rejoined the government.
Though the political crisis triggered by the MQM's defection has been defused to a large extent, political stability in Punjab is vital to ensure the smooth running of the PPP-led government at the centre.
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