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DMG blocks Nawaz’ key overture towards Imran
By Naveed Ahmad
ISLAMABAD: After meeting with Jamaat-e-Islami Amir Sirajul Haq, the prime minister sounded willing to send confidence building overtures to his rival politician, Imran Khan. Not only he sounds convinced to accept the forensic audit of the four constituencies that the PTI had long wanted to be revisited by the Election Commission of Pakistan, but also accepted for an audit of six other randomly chosen constituencies.
The PTI has long disputed the role of the NADRA in the election, as well as raised post-election ballot tempering allegations under its acting Chairman Imtiaz Tajwar. The sources informed that earlier this week, the Establishment Division had sought the entire record of the NADRA chairman appointment from the Interior Ministry. Later, the prime minister was briefed about the process adopted to screen the candidates along with the names of the top ranking ones.
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Friday expressed readiness to appoint the top-ranking candidate for the coveted post. The top most candidates, it is reliably learnt, is a distinguished IT professional with no political background or lobby within the District Management Group (DMG). Well-placed sources confirmed that the evaluation of the applications put a NADRA official on the top, with a good margin.
In total, there are eight candidates for coveted office of chairman, National Database Registration Authority (NADRA). The four applicants topping the list include two officials from the authority itself, then Arshad Javaid of Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan, and Shahbaz Sharif’s blue-eyed Umer Saif. A total of 170 candidates are vying for the chairmanship of NADRA, according to the official documents. The prime minister’s desire to send a very positive signal to the PTI leader by appointing the candidate scoring the highest marks in the evaluation process met stiff resistance from his own advisors in bureaucracy. Imran has repeatedly named acting NADRA Chairman Imtiaz Tajwar for overseeing ballot tempering process in adjacent building of the COMSATS.
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk