Caretaker PM: Backdoor negotiations trump parliamentary committee
Chaudhry Shujaat refuses to preside over meeting, given the ongoing unofficial mediation.
Members of parliamentary committee formed by speaker National Assembly for finalising the name of caretaker prime minister. PHOTO: EXPRESS/FILE
ISLAMABAD:
An eight member parliamentary committee - composed of representatives of the government and the opposition – is still struggling to agree on a single name for caretaker prime minister, Express News reported on Friday.
Pakistan Muslim League – Nawaz’s (PML-N) Khawaja Saad Rafiq has reportedly been acting as a middle-man for backdoor negotiations between the government and the opposition members, delivering messages back and forth. Angered by these negotiations, Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain refused to preside over the meeting, saying the committee has given its mandate to non-political forces.
He questioned the authority of the parliamentary committee given the ongoing unofficial mediation.
Members of the committee also expressed anger over PML-N leader Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan's statements to the media on Friday, in which he hinted that the issue of selecting the caretaker PM would go to the Election Commission of Pakistan.
The eight-member committee was formulated on March 19 and were given the task to pick the next caretaker prime minister of Pakistan after the government and opposition parties failed to agree on a name.
The parliamentary committee, formulated by National Assembly speaker Dr Fehmida Mirza, was given time till today to appoint the interim prime minister.
An eight member parliamentary committee - composed of representatives of the government and the opposition – is still struggling to agree on a single name for caretaker prime minister, Express News reported on Friday.
Pakistan Muslim League – Nawaz’s (PML-N) Khawaja Saad Rafiq has reportedly been acting as a middle-man for backdoor negotiations between the government and the opposition members, delivering messages back and forth. Angered by these negotiations, Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain refused to preside over the meeting, saying the committee has given its mandate to non-political forces.
He questioned the authority of the parliamentary committee given the ongoing unofficial mediation.
Members of the committee also expressed anger over PML-N leader Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan's statements to the media on Friday, in which he hinted that the issue of selecting the caretaker PM would go to the Election Commission of Pakistan.
The eight-member committee was formulated on March 19 and were given the task to pick the next caretaker prime minister of Pakistan after the government and opposition parties failed to agree on a name.
The parliamentary committee, formulated by National Assembly speaker Dr Fehmida Mirza, was given time till today to appoint the interim prime minister.