In a major development, Pakistan which has recently dissolved its Parliament, could name Jalil Abbas Jilani as new interim Prime Minister, a former Pakistani Ambassador to Germany and High Commissioner to India, Abdul Basit, has claimed.
"Congratulations to Ambassador (R) Jalil Abbas Jilani on his appointment as caretaker Prime Minister of Pakistan. A proud moment for the Foreign Service of Pakistan," Basit wrote in a post on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.
The claim has been corroborated by Aaj News sources in Islamabad saying that Jilani was a strong contender for the caretaker prime minister position and claimed that he had arrived at the Prime Minister's House on Wednesday afternoon. According to the report, the potential candidate had met with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, however, there was no official announcement.
According to the sources of ARY News, the names of former finance minister, Hafeez Sheikh, Ishaq Dar, Muhammad Mian Soomro, Dr Ishartul Ebad, and Jalil Abbas Jilani are being discussed for the caretaker PM’s post.
Who is Jalil Abbas Jilani?
Jilani, who served as the foreign secretary of Pakistan, has a long experience in handling foreign offices. Also, he served in several other countries as Pakistan’s ambassador including the United States.
According to Pakistani media, he has a law graduate degree from Oxford University and holds an M.Sc degree in Defense and Strategic Studies.
After retirement, he worked at a Pakistan Air Force think tank Centre for Aerospace and Security Studies.
Pakistan parliament dissolved
Earlier on Wednesday, almost three days before the completion of the Sharif-led government, President Arif Alvi assented to the premature dissolution of the National Assembly late Wednesday. "The president dissolved the National Assembly on the advice of the prime minister under Article 58-1 of the Constitution," read an official statement issued by the President's Office.
Notably, the incumbent government was due to be completed on August 12, Sharif handed over the summary to President Alvi three days before the completion of the fiver-year constitutional term. With the dissolution of the lower house of parliament, the federal cabinet also stood dissolved.
In a statement released after the dissolution, Federal Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Murtaza Javed Abbasi said that the premier was also asked for the formation of an interim government under Article 224 of the Constitution.
"The parliamentary affairs ministry will issue a notification on the approval of the summary and the formation of the caretaker government, he added.
How Pakistan appoints caretaker PM?
According to the Pakistan constitution, soon after the dissolution of the National Assembly, a process to appoint a caretaker prime minister will begin under Article 224-A of the Constitution. PM Shehbaz and Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Raja Riaz will hold consultations to finalise the name of the interim prime minister.
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.
