Stalemate persists over caretaker PM nominee

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday held another round of consultation with opposition leader Raja Riaz on the incoming caretaker prime minister, as President Arif Alvi asked the two leaders to finalise the name by Saturday (today).

According to a statement issued by the Prime Minister Office (PMO), Shehbaz invited the leader of the opposition in the now-dissolved National Assembly for the second round of consultations as per the constitutional provisions.

Shehbaz had met Riaz on Thursday, however, the meeting failed to build consensus on the interim prime minister, who would run the day-to-day affairs of the country, until a new government is formed after the general elections.

“We’ve yet to reach a consensus,” Riaz had told reporters after leaving the Prime Minister House on Thursday. Later, an official handout said that another meeting would be held on Friday to further deliberate on the names proposed by both sides.

So far, both sides are tight-lipped about what transpired in their rendezvous on Friday.

Riaz had said the names would be revealed only when one of them was finalised. He hoped they would agree on a single candidate by Saturday.

Under Article 224 (1A) of the Constitution, the president appoints the caretaker prime minister in consultation with the (outgoing) prime minister and the opposition leader in the outgoing National Assembly.

The prime minister and the opposition leader are required to propose the name of a person for the appointment of caretaker prime minister within three days of the dissolution of the assembly.

In case of disagreement, the matter is referred to the National Assembly speaker, who forms a parliamentary committee comprising both treasury and opposition members to make the recommendation.

But even if the committee fails to make any decision, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) will have two days to choose the caretaker prime minister from the list of names shared with it.

Meanwhile, President Alvi on Friday asked Prime Minister Shehbaz and opposition leader Riaz to propose a name for the appointment of caretaker prime minister by Aug 12 (today).

In a letter to Shehbaz and Riaz, the president recalled that he had dissolved the National Assembly on Aug 9. Therefore, he asked both of them to propose the name of the interim prime minister “not later than Aug 12”.

However, Shehbaz reacted strongly to the president’s letter, saying that he was at a loss as to why Alvi was in a hurry. He stressed that the Constitution stipulated an eight-day timeline for the appointment of the caretaker prime minister.

“The decision about the caretaker prime minister will be taken by tomorrow [today]. The president should have waited,” Shehbaz told reporters, adding that the president “should have read” the Constitution.

“The Constitution gives eight days. If no decision is made within three days, the parliamentary committee will take a decision within [another] three days. If the committee cannot decide, the Election Commission will look into the matter.”

Despite the delay, Shehbaz expressed his optimism that the matter would be decided by Saturday. In this regard, the prime minister added, consultation was ongoing with the allied parties.

Although, both sides are holding their respective nominations close to their chest, a new name, Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani, has emerged in the media as “one of the strongest contenders” for the coveted post.

According to a report, Sanjrani also held separate meetings with Prime Minister Shehbaz and Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) President Maulana Fazlur Rehman on Thursday night.

Other potential candidates, whose names have frequently circulated in the media, comprise Jalil Abbas Jilani, Dr Hafeez Sheikh, Ishaq Dar, Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, Fawad Hassan Fawad, among others.

Sanjrani’s name also got vocal support from the two new political parties, which had been formed mainly by those who quit the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) after the May 9 violence.

Jahangir Khan Tareen, chairman of the Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party (IPP), and Pervez Khattak, president of the PTI-Parliamentarians (PTI-P) have both issued separate statements in favour of Sanjrani.

Tareen said that he “supports the names suggested by Raja Riaz Ahmed for the caretaker prime minister and is with him,” adding that Sanjrani “is the most suitable candidate” for the post of caretaker prime minister.

A similar wording is used in a separate statement issued by Khattak. “We fully support the names proposed by Raja Riaz for the prime minister and in our view, Sadiq Sanjrani is a suitable candidate for this post,” it said.