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PPP names Pervez Ashraf as its PM-designate | Pakistan's ruling party Friday named Raja Pervez Ashraf
as its candidate for the slot of prime minister, said a spokesman for the Pakistan
Peoples Party (PPP). PPP Spokesman Khurshid Shah said at a press conference held
here in the Parliament House on Friday morning that that the nomination of Pervez
Ashraf was finalized in a high-level meeting chaired by President Asif Ali Zardari
and attended by leaders of allied groups late Thursday night. He said that the
PPP had three nominations and the allied parties had empowered the PPP to make
any decision and they would endorse any one. Raja Pervez Ashraf had emerged as
a strong candidate after a judge ordered the arrest of the PPP first candidate
Makhdoom Shahbuddin in a corruption case. He said President Zardari had also consulted
PPP leaders on the nomination of Ashraf, a former minister and senior PPP leader.
He said the PPP avoided any clash with the judiciary after Gilani was disqualified
as prime minister for continuation of democracy. PPP and its allies had earlier
nominated Makhdoom Shahabuddin for the slot, but his name was dropped after a
local anti- narcotics court issued an arrest warrant for his alleged involvement
in a corruption case. An Anti-Narcotics Court 's judge on Thursday issued a warrant
for the arrest of Shahabuddin for misuse of his power as minister for health to
grant excessive quota of a chemical used in a controlled drug shortly after Shahabuddin
submitted his nomination papers to the National Assembly secretariat. The arrest
warrant caused huge embarrassment for the PPP and its allies and President Zardari
summoned an emergency meeting of the senior leaders of the allied groups and decided
to field another candidate and Raja Pervez Ashraf emerged as a favorite. Ashraf,
a PPP loyalist and former minister for water and power, had filed nomination papers
as a covering candidate for Shahabuddin. Another senior PPP leader and former
information minister Qamar-uz-Zaman Kaira had also submitted nomination papers
after the arrest warrant was issued for Shahabuddin. Kaira will withdraw nomination
papers following PPP's announcement of its candidate for new prime minister on
Friday. Ashraf would become the 17th prime minister in the country should he pass
the election scheduled to be held at the National Assembly later on Friday evening.
Local media reported that prior to the final selection of the PM candidate by
PPP and its allies, a major allied group had suggested the president nominate
Qamar-uz-Zaman Kaira as candidate for the office as Raja Pervez Asharf is also
facing some corruption charges.
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