Sharif tries to stop aide from joining Imran
Mr Sarwar informed the Premier that his position did not allow him to take any practical steps to help the poor
Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is finding it hard to stop Punjab governor Chaudhry Mohammed Sarwar from quitting the government and joining the Pakistan Tehrik- e- Insaf ( PTI).
Mr Sharif has formally offered a federal Cabinet position to Chaudhry Mohammed Sarwar if he did not want to continue as the governor.
Mr Sarwar, sources said, informed the Premier that he had made up his mind to quit the office of governor as his position did not allow him to take any practical steps to help the poor masses and requested Mr Sharif to accept his resignation. A Governor’s House source confided that Mr Sarwar did not respond to Mr Sharif ’ s offer as he was in two minds about accepting the job at the Centre. He also has an offer to join the PTI.
“The PM offered the governor the post of federal minister for overseas Pakistanis,” said a source.
“The PM assured the governor that as federal minister for overseas Pakistanis, he would be in a position to help resolve all the problems faced by the overseas Pakistani and that he would also be in a better position to woo foreign investors to invest in Pakistan,” he added.
Meanwhile, legal experts stand divided over whether Mr Sarwar would face a two- year bar to enter active politics after resigning as the governor.
“The posts of the President and governor are ceremonial and have no executive powers. Any governor or President may join active politics as soon as he steps down or completes his respective term and will not be barred from political activities for two years after resignation”, said noted jurist S. M. Zafar.
However, Justice Tariq Chaudhry ( retd) opined, “He can only be made an adviser to the PM with the status of a federal minister as he is not a member of Parliament.”
Mr Sarwar, a former British MP, had given up the British nationality and came back to Pakistan to assume the governorship after Mr Sharif ’ s Pakistan Muslim League ( Nawaz) won the 2013 polls.