KARACHI / QUETTA: Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah and Provi­ncial Assembly Opposition Leader Rana Ansar on Monday agreed to appoint retired Sindh High Court chief justice Maqbool Baqar as the caretaker chief minister, minutes before the deadline ended.

On the other hand, there was no sign of consensus in Balochistan on the appointment of interim CM, as a crucial meeting between the out­going chief minister, Abdul Quddus Bizenjo, and the opposition leader could not materialise on Monday.

According to a brief statement issued by the Sindh CM House, “After three-day consultations between Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah and Leader of Opposition in the dissolved provincial assembly Rana Ansar, the two have agreed on the appointment of retired justice Maqbool Baqar as caretaker chief minister.”

“The summary for the formal appointment of Justice Baqar has immediately been forwarded to the Sindh governor Kamran Khan Tes­sori,” the statement added.

PPP, MQM agree on ex-justice Maqbool Baqar to lead provincial caretaker set-up

MQM-P confirmed a consensus was reached on the name of Mr Baqar whose name was primarily proposed by the treasury and it was agreed upon by the opposition after a lengthy discussion within the party and with its allies.

Ms Ansar told reporters outside the CM House it was a “win-win situation” for the treasury and the opposition as Justice Baqar’s name remained “undisputed” on both sides.

“And being the leader of the opposition, we also had to take our ally into confidence before reaching any decision. So the GDA’s input was also taken under consideration and the decision was made with consensus,” she added.

Before the formal announcement from any side, Justice Baqar, who retired from the Supreme Court last year, appeared on a private TV channel to confirm his appointment. “I was first contacted from the treasury side and later the opposition also talked to me on this matter,” he said in response to a question.

A law graduate from the University of Karachi, Mr Baqar, 66, enrolled as an advocate in May 1981. He was elevated as an additional judge of the Sindh High Court in Aug 2002 and his position was confirmed in 2003. He was appointed as the SHC chief justice in Sept 2013, from where he was elevated to Supreme Court in Feb 2015.

Balochistan interim CM

In Balochistan, CM Bizenjo was expected to reach Quetta to start consultations with opposition leader Sikandar Khan but he had not returned to the provincial capital for the negotiations.

On the other hand, the opposition leader and the JUI provincial head left for the federal capital to start negotiations with Mr Bizenjo.

Sources said a meeting was expected at late night. But by the time, this report was filed, no meeting was held.

“A meeting could be held tonight if opposition leaders desire,” CM Bizenjo told Dawn over the phone. “Many names of interested candidates are circulating in the media for the top slot,” he said but added that he has not chosen the final name from the government’s side.

Sources said there was a possibility that the process for appointment of the interim CM may land before the ECP and added that the outgoing CM appeared in no “hurry” to settle the matter.

The opposition party JUI-F proposed the name of ex-MNA Usman Badini while Ejaz Sanjrani, brother of Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani, was also in the run. Senator Kahuda Babar of BAP, Hammal Kalmati of BNP-Mengal and Naveed Kalmati were also among the nominees. Another name which appeared in the media is that of PPP’s Ali Hassan Zehri from Hub district, a candidate of PPP leader Asif Ali Zardari.

Published in Dawn, August 15th, 2023