Imran proposes ex-CJ Gulzar as caretaker PM

President asks PM to continue to discharge his duties till caretaker’s appointment

ISLAMABAD:

Prime Minister Imran Khan on Monday nominated former chief justice of Pakistan Gulzar Ahmed for the office of caretaker premier.

The prime minister took the decision after approval from the PTI's core committee, PTI leader Fawad Chaudhry said.

"I propose the name of Justice (retd) Gulzar Ahmed, former chief justice of Pakistan to be considered for appointment as the caretaker prime minister," reads the letter from the premier to the president.

The nomination came after President Arif Alvi wrote a letter to PM Imran and the opposition leader Shehbaz Sharif to "propose a suitable person for appointment" as a caretaker chief executive under Article 224 A (1) of the Constitution of Pakistan.

On April 3, the protracted political crisis over the opposition’s no-confidence motion hurtled deeper into chaos after President Alvi dissolved the National Assembly on the advice of Prime Minister Imran Khan, hours after the National Assembly Deputy Speaker Qasim Suri declared the opposition’s no-confidence motion “unconstitutional” and prorogued the house without voting on it.

The prime minister advised the president to dissolve the assembly under Article 58 of the Constitution. Imran took the decision of sending the summary after accusing the joint opposition of working with the United States to overthrow his government.

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According to a press release, the president conveyed to both leaders that in case the PM and the leader of the opposition "do not agree on any person to be appointed as the caretaker prime minister, within three days of the dissolution of the National Assembly, they shall forward two nominees each to a Committee to be immediately constituted by the Speaker of the National Assembly, comprising eight members of the outgoing National Assembly, or the Senate, or both, having equal representation from the Treasury and the Opposition, to be nominated by the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition respectively, in pursuance of Article 224A(1) of the Constitution of Pakistan'.

The president further notified that the incumbent PM Imran Khan shall continue to hold the office of the premier till the appointment of the caretaker prime minister under Article 224A(4) of the Constitution.

Meanwhile, in a parallel development, a notification issued by President Dr Arif Alvi's office said Imran Khan will continue to serve as the prime minister of Pakistan till the appointment of a caretaker premier under Article 224-A(4) of the Constitution. Article 224(A) deals with the procedure of the appointment of the caretaker prime minister in case the leader of the house and leader of the opposition do not agree on the name of a caretaker prime minister, while 224-A(4) says: "The incumbent Prime Minister and the incumbent Chief Minister shall continue to hold office till appointment of the care-taker Prime Minister and the care-taker Chief Minister, as the case may be."

Earlier in the day, the Cabinet Secretariat had issued a notification stating that Imran Khan had "ceased to hold the office of the prime minister of Pakistan with immediate effect".

However, under Article 94 of the Constitution, the president "may ask the Prime Minister to continue to hold office until his successor enters upon the office of Prime Minister".