LAHORE - The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) foresees ‘progress’ on its demands on the caretaker setup for the upcoming general elections after Prime Minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf discussed the issue with Leader of Opposition in the National Assembly Chaudhry Nisar on phone.Sources in the PML-N say the prime minister in a telephonic contact with the opposition leader held preliminary discussion on the caretaker setup and hopefully progress would be made after Ramazan.Following the 18th Amendment, the caretaker setup and its head have to be finalised after consultation with the opposition and in case, no consensus is developed, the chief election commissioner will pick up one of the three names sent to him. The method has been evolved to lend transparency and impartiality to the electoral process to make the election results acceptable to all. PML-N Central Information Secretary Mushahidullah Khan said the prime minister contacted the opposition leader on the caretaker setup and a ‘positive’ headway will be achieved after Eid.The government and the opposition appear to be on the same page over neutral and nonpartisan setup for the upcoming general elections. The PPP-led coalition is working on floating consensus names for a prime minister and the provincial heads while the PML-N-led opposition has also expressed its strong resolve to put forward the names for the interim government after reaching out to all the parties. The party is even willing to contact the PTI, which of late has come out with strong war of words and accusations with the PML-N over the the matter. In the recent past development on both sides furnished indications about general elections principally on account of the Supreme Court decision on the NRO on which the court has also kicked off contempt of court proceedings against the prime minister because he too is not willing to write to Swiss authorities for reopening graft cases against President Asif Ali Zardari. The court called the prime minister on August 27 when he may be indicted for disobeying the court directions and the likelihood of his disqualification cannot be ruled out. As the experts opine that early elections may also become a necessity if the court required them to be held as a matter of seeking fresh public mandate after the government had failed to discharge its constitutional obligations. This has also highlighted the value of beforehand preparation to meet any eventuality. In a public interaction, Zardari directed the party leaders and workers to prepare for elections while PML-N President Nawaz Sharif had also passed on a positive direction to his party men to embark on election preparations immediately after Ramazan.  Sources in the party say the PML-N is fast preparing for the upcoming elections which it wants to be held not beyond December next. The elections a few months early the scheduled time of February 2013, the party leadership believes will benefit the current democratic dispensation and overcome many crisis and announcement of the date for the polls as well as process for caretaker setup within this month would serve ‘a great purpose’. .

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