NAVEED BUTT & ALI HUSSAIN

ISLAMABAD: The National Assembly will elect a new Prime Minister today (Tuesday) following disqualification of former Premier Nawaz Sharif in Panama Papers case by the Supreme Court, as nomination papers of six candidates were accepted for the premiership race.

The vote for election of a new leader of the house in National Assembly [prime minister] would be held at the Lower House of the Parliament, which is scheduled to meet at 3:00pm today (Tuesday).

After the election process, the newly-elected prime minister would take the oath of his office today (Tuesday) at the Presidency. President Mamnoon Hussain would administer the oath to the newly-elected prime minister.

The candidates whose nomination papers have been accepted by Speaker National Assembly are Shahid Khaqan Abbasi of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), two candidates of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), namely Syed Khursheed Ahmad Shah [opposition leader in National Assembly] and Syed Naveed Qamar; Awami Muslim League (AML) chief Sheikh Rashid Ahmad fielded by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), Muttahida Qaumi Movement’s (MQM) Kishwar Zehra and Sahibzada Tariqullah of Jamaat-e-Islami.

However, any candidate can withdraw his/her nomination paper till 3:00pm before the vote process on Tuesday (today).

The joint opposition which met at the chamber of the opposition leader failed to evolve consensus on fielding a unanimous candidate, as the sources said that PTI was not ready to withdraw the candidature of Sheikh Rashid.

They further said that PPP and MQM raised objections on Rashid’s nomination, as they believed that it was earlier decided that a unanimous candidate would be announced after a meeting of the joint opposition.

However, there could be a change until Tuesday evening as a meeting of the joint opposition is scheduled to be held at Parliament House prior to vote to make further deliberations for a possible consensus on a single candidate.

Talking to journalists, Khursheed Shah said that efforts are still under way to keep the opposition parties united on a single platform, adding that the opposition parties are supposed to make deliberations on a consensus candidate but Imran Khan hurriedly announced the nomination of Sheikh Rashid.

He said it was agreed with PTI Vice Chairman Shah Mehmood Qureshi that the opposition parties would make a unanimous decision on their joint candidate.

On the other hand, PML-N has also intensified its efforts to muster support for its candidate Shahid Khaqan Abbasi from different political parties including PPP and MQM. PML-N senior leaders including Sheikh Aftab Ahmad and Abdul Qadir Baloch met senior PPP leader Syed Khursheed Shah and urged his party’s support for the PML-N candidate.

Talking to reporters after filing his nomination papers, the PML-N candidate expressed confidence that his party would win the vote for the premiership with a “landmark victory”.

He said the oath-taking of the new prime minister will take place on Tuesday (today) while the federal cabinet will also be formed soon to ensure continuity of the government and the democratic process. He said the cabinet members will be chosen in consultation with the party.

Abbasi, who is reportedly facing a Rs 220 billion corruption inquiry being carried out by National Accountability Bureau (NAB) in LNG import contract, told a questionnaire that he was ready to face any inquiry. However, he advised his opponents to avoid mudslinging on “baseless” grounds.

He said after his election as the prime minister, his priority would be to take forward economic policies pursued by the PML-N government so that the country scales new heights of progress and development.

“Nothing would be changed and the manifesto would be the same…I would pursue the same policy that was before 12:00pm on Friday [when the apex court disqualified Nawaz Sharif as PM],” he said, adding he will take forward the development agenda of the party.

He said the country is faced with many challenges and his efforts will be aimed at steering the country out of the challenges.

He said after the Supreme Court’s verdict in the Panama Papers case, his party nominated him for the office of the leader of the house in National Assembly, adding he would approach all the members of the house to vote for him.

To another question, he said the stock market suffers due to uncertainty but now it responds positively after news about the continuity of the policies and the democratic process in the country.

On this occasion, he was accompanied amongst others by Khawaja Mohammad Asif, Abdul Qadir Baloch, Sheikh Aftab, Sardar Mohammad Yousaf, Saira Afzal Tarar, Dr Tariq Fazal Chaudhry and PML-Z leader Ejazul Haq.

Earlier, the PML-N held a consultative meeting at the Parliament House and discussed matters pertaining to the election of the leader of the house.

The Speaker’s Office also rejected the objection raised by Sheikh Rashid on nomination of Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and accepted nomination papers of all candidates.