Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) member and leader of the opposition in Punjab’s provincial assembly, Mian Mehmood ur Rashid on Wednesday night apologised for his party’s decision to backtrack from backing former bureaucrat Nasir Khan Khosa as Punjab’s caretaker chief minister, and claimed that the party’s decision lacked ‘maturity’.
Speaking in a TV show on Wednesday night, Rashid explained that the party had collectively agreed on nominating Khosa as its candidate for the interim CM, with Imran Khan giving his blessing to the nomination.
“The names for the PTI’s nominees came from the party’s top brass, including Imran Khan,” Rashid revealed, adding, “It was only after the party’s leadership cadre approved these names did I present these names [to Punjab CM Shehbaz Sharif]”
Rashid claimed that the two names the PTI nominated were Gohar Ejaz and Nasir Khan Khosa, with the PML-N opposing the former and preferring the latter.
Rashid also said that he only talked to Punjab Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif and suggested Khosa’s name after Imran Khan had approved Khosa.
The PTI leader also seemed to criticise his party when he claimed that the PTI ought to have shown more maturity before withdrawing its nomination, and said that the PTI’s hasty decision stemmed from the party’s inability to adequately ‘undertake its homework’ before choosing its nominees.
“We are a new party,” Rashid intoned, “and I am afraid that we were unable to do our homework on the caretaker CM slot with the seriousness this issue warranted.”
“We realise this is our mistake,” Rashid conceded.
In an earlier appearance in another TV show on Wednesday night, the PTI leader also suggested that it was ‘backlash on social media’ that pushed the PTI into withdrawing its support for Nasir Khan Khosa.
The PTI leader claimed that the party decided to stop backing Khosa after it became apparent his nomination was garnering opposition. When asked where the PTI had observed this opposition, the leader responded,
“On social media, on digital media and in newspapers. People used various reasons such as Nawaz Sharif praising Khosa to generate a maelstrom against Khosa.”
The PML-N meanwhile, criticised the PTI’s decision to withdraw its support of Khosa, with Rana Sanaullah calling the PTI move a ‘joke’.
Nasir Khan Khosa himself, moreover, recused himself on Thursday from caretaker CM duties.
Sources claimed that the former chief secretary of Punjab and of Balochistan was not taken into confidence before being nominated, which led to him deciding to excuse himself from the position.
