PM Sharif and the head of the opposition will decide on the interim premier’s name on Saturday

Shehbaz Sharif, the outgoing prime minister of Pakistan, and Raja Riaz, the leader of the opposition, are scurrying against time to decide on the name of the caretaker premier who will preside over general elections later this year after the president gave them a deadline of August 12 to find a “suitable person” for the position.

Following the dissolution of the National Assembly on August 9, Sharif and Riaz started holding rounds of consultations to choose a caretaker prime minister.

 

The previous coalition parties will also be included in political deliberations, Sharif said media in Islamabad on Friday. He and opposition leader Raja Riaz would decide on the name by Saturday.

 

Before making a decision, “coalition partners will be taken into confidence over the matter,” he stated.

 

Sharif said he had plans to see Raja Riaz on Friday but was unable to do so because of other obligations.

 

He also said that they will meet on Saturday.

 

President Arif Alvi wrote to Prime Ministers Sharif and Riaz to tell them that Article 224A requires them to select an interim prime minister within three days after the National Assembly’s dissolution.

 

“As provided in Article 224 (1A) of the Constitution of Pakistan, the Prime Minister and leader of the Opposition in the outgoing National Assembly may propose a suitable person for the appointment of care-taker Prime Minister not later than August 12,” said President Alvi in the letter.

 

Sharif responded by saying he was upset to receive the president’s letter.

 

After the National Assembly (NA), the lower house of Parliament, is dissolved, Sharif said that the Constitution gives the caretaker premier eight days to be chosen.

 

The Constitution gives the current prime minister and the departing NA opposition leader three days to choose the temporary prime minister’s name.

 

The topic would be sent to a legislative committee if the two couldn’t agree on a name. The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) would have two days to choose the caretaker prime minister from the list of candidates provided to the committee if it is unable to reach a resolution.

 

Additionally, on Friday, Sharif hosted a dinner for his coalition allies and utilized the chance to talk with them about the matter of the caretaker prime minister.

 

At the meal, all of the departing governing parties granted him complete freedom to choose a candidate for the caretaker premier position.

 

Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, the chairman of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), Maulana Fazlur Rehman, the leader of the Pakistan Democratic Movement, Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui, and Akhtar Mengal of the Balochistan National Party were notable guests at the event. During the meal, Ishaq Dar, Khawaja Asif, Marriyum Aurangzeb, and Shahzain Bugti were also present.

 

Bhutto-Zardari reportedly told Sharif that his party would accept the premier’s choice for the caretaker position, according to a source in the Prime Minister’s Office.

 

The first meeting between Sharif and Riaz took place on Thursday, one day after the National Assembly was prematurely dissolved.

 

Former Pakistani Chief Justice Tassaduq Hussain Jilani and former diplomat Jalil Abbas Jilani have both been suggested by the Pakistan Peoples Party, while Kamran Tessori of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) has also been put forth.

 

When it comes to their candidate, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) has held its cards close to its breast.

 

According to the Dawn daily, the PML-N’s eagerness to see its own man in power is said to be one of the reasons for the delay in determining the name of the head of the interim set-up.

 

Politicians have speculated that Prime Minister Sharif intends to remain in power until August 14 in order to participate in the Independence Day flag-raising ceremony, after which a caretaker premier would take the oath.

 

Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani was described as “one of the strongest candidates” by a top PML-N official to the publication.

 

He referred to Defence Minister Khawaja Asif, who had coined the phrase, saying, “The Senate chairman can be the dark horse.”

 

Former finance ministers Hafeez Sheikh and Ishaq Dar, former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, former principal secretary Fawad Hassan Fawad, and former judge Tassaduq Jilani are further potential candidates.