QUETTA: The government and opposition have proposed three names each for the post of caretaker chief minister of Balochistan and started talks on Wednesday evening to agree on a name. They decided to resume discussions on Thursday.

Chief Minister Nawab Aslam Raisani has proposed the names of former chief justice of Balochistan Amanullah Yasinzai and Jam Kamal, son of former chief minister late Jam Mohammad Yousuf.

The Leader of Opposition in the now dissolved provincial assembly, Mir Tariq Magsi, has proposed the names Nawab Ghous Bakhsh Barozai and Sardar Mohammad Saleh Bhootani after consultation with his group and political parties outside the assembly.

Saleh Bhootani was caretaker chief minister in 2008 and Ghous Bakhsh is son of Nawab Mohammad Khan Barozai, the speaker of the first assembly of Balochistan. He had also served as chief minister in late 70s.

The National Party (NP) has suggested the names of retired justice Ahmed Khan Lashari and advocate Ali Ahmed Kurd, former president of the Supreme Court Bar Association.

Tariq Magsi said his group had proposed the names of Ghous Bakhsh Barozai and Sardar Bhootani after consultations with the PML-N, PPP, Pakhtunkhawa Milli Awami Party and Balochistan National Party.

He said the opposition and government teams had held a meeting on Wednesday and would meet again on Thursday. “We are trying to nominate a unanimous candidate,” he told Dawn.

He said the opposition team comprised Sardar Sanaullah Zehri of the PML-N, Sheikh Jaffar Khan Mandokhel of PML-Q, Mir Sadiq Umrani of PPP, Aslam Bizenjo, Saeed Ahmed Hashmi and retired captain Abdul Khaliq Achakzai.

The government team consists of Syed Ehsan Shah and Mir Asad Baloch of the BNP-Awami, Aainullah Shams of Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl, Ali Madad Jattak of PPP, Zamarak Khan Piralizai of Awami National Party and Saleem Khosa.