KARACHI  - Opposition Leader in Sindh Assembly Khawaja Izhar ul Hassan on Monday reached out to the leading opposition parties in the provincial assembly, including the Pakistan Muslim League-Functional, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf and PML-N, to begin consultations over the interim chief minister and the cabinet to be installed in the province.   

The provincial assembly is set to complete its five-year term on May 28 and as per the constitution the chief minister of Sindh and the opposition leader had to suggest a name for the interim chief minister after consultations before the term of the assembly expires. If an agreement is not reached between the two sides, the matter would then be sent to the parliamentary committee having equal representation from opposition and treasury benches and later to the election commission.  

Talking to The Nation, Opposition Leader in Sindh Assembly Khawaja Izhar ul Hassan said that he had approached the opposition parties in order to bring a consensus name for the interim chief minister and the cabinet members.  

“We will talk to every group in the opposition so that a consensus candidate could be brought forward from the opposition parties,” he said, adding that they could also talk to Pak Sarzameen Party lawmakers, who had defected from the MQM-P, if they had any names for the interim chief minister.  

PML-F Parliamentary Leader Nand Kumar confirmed that he had been approached by opposition leader Khawaja Izhar and said that it was decided that they would be meeting on the issue within a day or two. “Neither he shared any names nor we have given any names from PML-F side,” he said, adding that the formal consultation would begin after the parties sit together.