All eyes on crucial meeting today to decide candidate for caretaker prime minister
Pakistan
According to sources, the meeting is likely to be held at Prime Minister House between 2 and 3 pm
ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) – Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and opposition leader Raja Riaz will meet on Thursday (today) to pick a caretaker premier. Their meeting scheduled for Wednesday was postponed.
According to sources, the meeting is likely to be held at the Prime Minister House between 2 and 3 pm.
The opposition has been informed accordingly.
According to practice, the premier and the opposition leader would name three candidates each for the office, of whom one consensus candidate will be picked.
It may be recalled that parties in the ruling alliance have nominated their candidates. The MQM has named Kamran Tessori for the caretaker prime minister, while the National Party has suggested Justice (retd) Shakeel Baloch.
Moreover, former foreign secretary Jalil Abbas Jilani, ex—finance minister Hafeez Sheikh and Justice (Retd) Tasaddaq Jilani have also been under consideration for caretaker prime minister. Consultation is ongoing on the names of Justice (Retd) Maqbool Baqir, Fawad Hasan Fawad, Zulfiqar Magsi and Dr. Ishrat Abad.
According to sources, Jalil is the strongest candidate for the office. People’s Party (PPP) co-chairman Asif Zardari suggested his name to Nawaz Sharif and the latter did not object to the nomination.
It may be noted that if the premier and opposition leader fail to reach consensus on a name for the caretaker prime minister, the matter will be referred to the parliamentary committee. If the committee also fails to make a decision, the matter will be sent to the Election Commission which will pick a name within two days.
Also read: President Alvi dissolves National Assembly on advice of PM Shehbaz
President Dr Arif Alvi on Wednesday night dissolved the National Assembly on the advice of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Dunya News reported. The president has signed the summary sent by the prime minister for dissolution of the National Assembly. The federal cabinet also stands dissolved with the dissolution of the National Assembly.
