A day before cash-strapped Pakistan is set to dissolve the parliament, local media reports claimed that the incumbent Prime Minister and the leader of the Opposition have finalised the name of the interim premiere but keeping the name "secret" in order to avoid any controversy.
According to a report by the Pakistani English daily, Dawn, a decision on the caretaker has been "finalised"-- a claim Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah had denied during a regular press conference on Monday.
How caretaker government appointed in Pakistan?
The caretaker government is appointed in Pakistan after the outgoing Prime Minister and the leader of the Opposition give the nod for it. If they fail to agree on a name, the Prime Minister and the Opposition leader will forward their names to a bipartisan committee to zero in on one name within a given time period.
If the committee also fails, the Election Commission of Pakistan receives the same names and chooses one of them to serve as Prime Minister. The caretaker Prime Minister appoints a Cabinet to manage the government's activities, and he leaves office as soon as the newly elected Prime Minister takes the oath of office.
Requirements of a caretaker government
A caretaker government, by Pakistani law, is tasked to oversee day-to-day matters important to the government but is not allowed to make major policy decisions except for urgent matters. A caretaker government is also supposed to restrict itself to routine, non-controversial and reversible matters.
A caretaker Prime Minister is expected to be an impartial person towards any person or political party. However, in some cases, it has been found that caretaker governments have overstepped their boundaries, such as in 2013, where all appointments, transfers and holdings by the interim authority were revoked by the Supreme Court.
What speculations suggest?
Meanwhile, sources in the Pakistani daily claimed that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is expected to meet National Assembly Opposition Leader Raja Riaz on Tuesday or Wednesday to “finalise” the name for the slot. He claimed a politician, who was not associated with any political party, could also become the caretaker PM.
Earlier on Monday Sharif held separate meetings with MQM leadership and PPP leader Yousaf Raza Gilani. MQM delegation led by Convener Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui proposed the name of Governor Kamran Tessori for the caretaker prime minister.
There are also reports that former financial expert Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh could become the caretaker prime minister. However, Sanaullah said the name of Sheikh’s has not been agreed upon. According to Dawn, his name was floated as he is said to be the strongest contender and is believed to be acceptable to all mainstream political parties.
