Qaiser writes letters to Imran, Shehbaz for interim PM

National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser has written letters to Prime Minister Imran Khan and Leader of the Opposition Shehbaz Sharif for the formation of a parliamentary committee to appoint a caretaker premier.

Qaiser has written the letters under Article 224A-(1) of the Constitution.

The speaker has sought four names each from the PM and opposition leader for the constitution of the panel. It will consist of eight members from the outgoing National Assembly.

Qaiser’s letter states that Imran and Shehbaz could not agree on a single name for the appointment of a caretaker premier.

A day after National Assembly Deputy Speaker Qasim Shah Suri threw out the no-confidence motion and President Arif Alvi dissolved the NA on the advice of PM Imran, the president wrote a letter to the prime minister and Shehbaz to propose names of suitable persons for appointment as caretaker premier.

Read What happens after National Assembly's dissolution?

The prime minister forwarded Justice (retd) Gulzar Ahmed's name for the post. Subsequently, the president wrote another letter to Shehbaz, informing him of the nomination and asking him to either agree with it or present his own nominee by April 6.

The opposition leader in his response stated that the name of former CJ cannot be agreed upon while the previous set up’s status was still being debated in court.

According to NA rules, in case the two politicians cannot reach a consensus over one name within three days, each one of them will send two names to the parliamentary committee responsible for the appointment of a caretaker prime minister.

The eight-member parliamentary committee with equal representation from the government and opposition will be formed by the NA speaker.

“224A (1) In case the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition in the outgoing National Assembly 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,” Qaiser wrote in the letter.