MANSEHRA, Feb 7: Two PML-Q leaders are tipped as favourites for appointment as the NWFP governor to replace Syed Iftikhar Hussain Shah after the completion of Senate elections.

Either PML-Q general secretary and former MNA, Sardar Mohammad Yousaf or former foreign minister Gohar Ayub Khan will replace the NWFP governor, a PML-Q spokesman said here on Friday.

Both political leaders from Hazara after falling prey to the graduation condition had succeeded in getting their wards Omar Ayub Khan and Sardar Shahjehan Yousaf elected from NA-19, Haripur and NA-20, Mansehra-I, respectively.

The spokesman said both had been demanding the induction of their sons in the federal cabinet,  creating difficulties for the party’s top brass to accommodate the two MNAs from Hazara in the cabinet.

He said at a meeting of the PML-Q, some of the party leaders have put forward the suggestion  of inducting Omar Ayub Khan in the federal cabinet and recommending the appointment of Sardar Mohammad Yousaf as NWFP governor to the President Gen Pervez Musharaf or inducting Sardar Shahjehan Yousaf in the federal cabinet and recommending the appointment of Gohar Ayub Khan as NWFP governor.

The spokesman further said the suggestion was being seriously considered by the PML-Q high command and a decision in this regard would be taken after the Senate elections.