Fawad Chaudhry names Malik Ahmed Khan as possible Punjab chief minister

Former federal minister Fawad Chaudhry has said Punjab Assembly Speaker Malik Ahmed Khan is a possible candidate for the next chief minister of Punjab, ARY News reported.

Speaking to journalists, Chaudhry said a national government was the only solution to the country's problems. Asked about a possible change in the federal government, he said he believed the matter was nearing completion and that the PTI should take advantage of the situation.

He said the Pakistan Peoples Party had kept complete silence since a meeting held the previous day, and that the position would become clear once the party responded.

Punjab Governor Sardar Saleem Haider Khan said he was not aware of any move to replace Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz and would not comment on assumptions. Speaking to the media, he said Faryal Talpur's visit to Punjab would have positive effects. He said President Asif Ali Zardari was arriving in Lahore that day and that he would receive him, though he did not know the president's engagements during the stay.

Chaudhry, who served as a federal minister in the PTI government, also criticised Maryam Nawaz over her visit to Jhelum, saying she inaugurated projects that had been launched during the PTI government's tenure. He said it was a good thing the projects had finally been inaugurated, and that he had earlier been criticised for not inaugurating them himself.

"Had there been no London Plan, the projects in Jhelum would have been completed four years ago," he said.

Neither the Punjab Assembly speaker nor the Chief Minister's Office has issued a statement on Chaudhry's remarks. ARY News did not report any response from Malik Ahmed Khan to the suggestion that he could be a candidate for the province's top office.

The remarks come as the PPP, a partner in the federal coalition, has not publicly commented on the political situation. The governor's comments place him among the provincial officials who have said they have no knowledge of a change in the Punjab government.