ISLAMABAD: Mohsin Naqvi, Chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), has declared that he will run in the Senate elections from Punjab next month.
Naqvi told The News on Saturday that, while he would be the Senate’s “candidate of all,” he has yet to settle on his future political identity.
Responding to a question about his potential role in the Ministry of Interior, the former Punjab caretaker chief minister stated that no decision has been made and that discussions are ongoing, despite his meeting with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and President-elect Asif Ali Zardari.
Naqvi’s potential bid for a seat in the upper house faces stiff opposition from the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), whose senior leader Asad Qasier ruled out any possibility of “reconciliation” if Naqvi is appointed to the interior ministry during News’ “Naya Pakistan” program.
Earlier, The News claimed, citing sources, that Naqvi was being considered for the position of prime minister’s adviser on internal affairs, with Rana Mehmoodul Hassan representing Punjab in the Senate.
According to sources, Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain of the Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q), a prominent component in the coalition, reportedly demanded that the alliance party leadership assure Naqvi’s unopposed election as senator.
Now, the former Punjab chief minister is serving as the PCB’s head after being elected unopposed and replacing Zaka Ashraf as the cricketing body’s chief for the next three years last month.
However, it is pertinent to know that Naqvi’s appointment as PCB chairman has been challenged in the Islamabad High Court (IHC) with the court having reserved its verdict on the petition relying on the caretaker prime minister’s powers to appoint the board’s chief.
