ISLAMABAD – Former minister for petroleum and Natural Resources Shahid Khaqan Abbasi filed his nomination papers for the vacant post of prime minister here on Monday.
Khaqan, who was picked by his party after the ouster of Nawaz Sharif by a five-member bench of the supreme court submitted his papers in the secretariat of National Assembly.
Speaker of the National Assembly Ayyaz Sadiq would scrutinise the papers till 3 PM today after which the final list of candidates for upcoming PM would be clear.
Currently, Awami Muslim League president Sheikh Rasheed, Sahibzada Tariq Ullah of Jamaat-e-Islami and Khaqan Abbasi are in the run to be the next chief executive of the country, however, the latter is sure to assume the charge as the ruling PML-N enjoys a two-third majority in the Lower House of the Parliament.
Talking to newsmen after submitting his papers, Abbasi expressed that his party would emerge victorious with a wide majority adding that the policies in place before 1230 PM Friday, would be continued.
To a question regarding the federal cabinet, Abbasi replied that the party leadership would finalise as to who would be the minister.
Earlier, talking to Geo News, Abbasi expressed that the federal cabinet would be finalised in a day or so.
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Regarding his assets, the legislator expressed that he was a member of assembly from last three decades and detailed his assets for over twenty times.
‘If anyone is suspicious about my assets, he can move a petition, I would personally respond to the allegations then’ he said.
‘It has just become a tradition now to file all kinds of useless petitions,’ he added.
Khaqan Abbasi maintained that his party’s leader [Nawaz Sharif] has always given a lesson of politeness.
“It is up to the public if they want to trust the language of the [commercial politicians] or ours,” he said.
The race for new PM started after a five-member bench of the top court disqualified the third-time ruling premier Nawaz Sharif for concealing his employment with FZE Capital in his nomination papers for General Elections 2013.
The ruling PML-N decided to elect Shahid Khaqan Abbasi as a stop-gap premier in a bid to replace him with Punjab’s Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif after he secures victory in National Assembly constituency 120 from Lahore.
