ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s ruling coalition said on Saturday that no names had been shortlisted for the caretaker prime minister so far and teams of coalition partners would be meeting next week to reach a consensus on the matter.
The current legislature, led by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, is set to complete its five-year term on August 12, paving the way for the next general election in October. According to the constitution, a caretaker PM is appointed by the president in consultation with the PM and leader of the opposition in the outgoing National Assembly, the lower house of parliament.
The law also stipulates that general elections be held less than 60 days after the dissolution of the National Assembly if it is dissolved when its term expires. If the assembly is dissolved earlier, election shall be held within 90 days of dissolution.
In interviews with Arab News, the Sharif-led Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), two major coalition partners, denied finalizing any names for the post of the caretaker PM, contrary to what was claimed by a section of local media.
“No names [have been] finalized yet,” said Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal, who is also part of a committee formed by the Sharif-led PML-N to develop consensus on the caretaker premier’s names.
Faisal Karim Kundi, a member of Sharif’s cabinet and the PPP’s central information secretary, confirmed that no names had been shared with his party so far and the committees of both parties will meet next week to deliberate on the matter.
“Hopefully our committee will meet the PMLN committee on Monday to discuss the possible names as of now no names have been shared with us,” Kundi told Arab News.
PM Sharif last week constituted a five-member committee to hold discussions with political stakeholders on the caretaker prime minister. The PML-N committee includes Iqbal, Ishaq Dar, Ayaz Sadiq, Khawaja Saad Rafiq and Khawaja Muhammad Asif. Whereas the PPP’s team comprises former prime minister Yousaf Raza Gillani, Khurshid Shah and Syed Naveed Qamar.
Kundi said the caretaker prime minister should be a “neutral person,” whether a politician or not, but they should be strong enough to handle the challenge of ensuring free and fair and timely elections nationwide.
“A person who is already a part of the cabinet or holds an office in a party cannot be a suitable candidate,” he said.
“The caretaker prime minister should be someone both the opposition and the government should agree on, and no one can raise a finger on their impartiality.”
On the desolation of the assembly, Kundi said his party had a clear stance that elections must take place on time, either in 60 days or 90 days.
Hafiz Hamdullah, a spokesperson for the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) alliance that backs the Sharif-led government, endorsed that no names had been shared with his Jamiat Ulema Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) or any other PDM parties so far, describing media reports suggesting otherwise as “rumors.”
“No single or two parties can decide the name of the caretaker prime minister as it will be decided by all the 13 PDM parties and other coalition partners,” he told Arab News.
Hamdullah said any party could suggest the names, but a final decision would be made through a consensus among all allies.
“It is expected that the PML-N committee will meet [PDM president] Maulana Fazlur Rehman in the next few days to deliberate on the matter and also decide the date to dissolve assemblies,” he added.
