Caretaker prime minister’s name will be finalised soon: Rana Sanaullah
Who will take on mantle of caretaker PM?
LAHORE –Opposition Leader in National Assembly (NA) Raja Riaz on Tuesday asserted that the opposition has finalised three names for caretaker prime minister (PM) as incumbent government’s tenure is expected to end tomorrow (August 9),
Incumbent National Assembly’s full tenure will end on August 12 and if it completes its stipulated time then elections will be held within 60 days. However, the Constitution states that the polls must be held within 90 days if the assembly is dissolved before the completion of its tenure.
It would be liable to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to hold polls within 90 days if the summary is moved to dissolve the lower house on August 9 (tomorrow).
Before dissolution of the assembly, the government and the opposition required to agree over the caretaker set up to fill the gap before the next general election and installation of elected new government.
With only one day left until the date given by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif for the dissolution of the National Assembly, the ruling coalition’s consultation is underway or the appointment of a “mutually agreed” name for caretaker PM.
Names of Ishaq Dar, Hafeez Sheikh and Justice Shakeel Baloch among others have emerged for the interim premier’s slot but the incumbent government has not confirmed any of them.
The opposition leader said that he will meet Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif tomorrow and present the three names finalised for caretaker prime minister slot.
Responding to a question, Raja Riaz said that the next general elections are expected to be held in March 2024 following the Council of Common Interest’s (CCI) move to notify digital census 2023.
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Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah said consultation about the caretaker prime minister was under way and expressed hope that the name would be finalised in a day or two.
In a statement, the PML-N Punjab president said the caretaker set-up would perform its constitutional duty of carrying out delimitations. He said the delimitation process would take 120 days. After completion of the process, he said, elections would be conducted.
As for the names of the caretaker PM, the minister said names were under discussion and no one had been finalised yet.
The minister said elections would not be unnecessarily delayed and the caretaker government and security agencies would ensure security and other aspects.
Names for the caretaker prime minister are doing the rounds on the internet platforms as tenure of the incumbent government would end on Aug 14.
The Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) has already nominated Sindh Governor Kamran Tessori for the coveted slot.
The other names include former finance minister Abdul Hafeez Shaikh, ex-prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, retired Justice Maqbool Baqar, Fawad Hassan Fawad, Rauf Sheikh and Zulfiqar Magsi.
Punjab interim chief minister Mohsin Naqvi and former Sindh governor Dr Ishratul Ibad are also said to be vying for the caretaker prime minister.
However, Opposition Leader in the National Assembly Raja Riaz said on Tuesday he had finalised three names for the interim PM. He said he would share these names with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
