Imran Khan to continue as Pakistan PM till caretaker prime minister appointed
Former chief justice nominated for caretaker prime minister
Islamabad: Imran Khan will continue to hold the office of prime minister until a caretaker premier is appointed, the president’s office of Pakistan said on Monday.
Following the political crisis after the dismissal of the no-trust vote against Pakistan’s prime minister and the dissolution of the National Assembly, President Arif Alvi sent an official letter to the incumbent prime minister and leader of the opposition in the outgoing National Assembly for the nomination of the caretaker premier.
The president asked them to initiate the process of the caretaker government and “propose a suitable person for the appointment of caretaker Prime Minister as provided in Article 224 (IA) of the Constitution of Pakistan.”
In case, the prime minister and the opposition leader do not agree on any person to be appointed as the caretaker prime minister within three days of the dissolution of the National Assembly, they shall forward two nominees each to a committee to be immediately constituted by the Speaker of the National Assembly.
The committee would comprise eight members of the outgoing National Assembly or the Senate or both having equal representation from the treasury and the opposition sides, to be nominated by the prime minister and the leader of the opposition respectively under Article 224A(1) of the Constitution.
Meanwhile, the leader of the opposition and president of Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N) Shehbaz Sharif has refused to be part of the consultative process for the selection caretaker prime minister initiated by President Alvi. He alleged that the prime minister had imposed a “civil martial law” in the country and “violated the Constitution”.
Caretaker PM suggested
On Monday, Prime Minister Imran Khan nominated the former chief justice of Pakistan Gulzar Ahmed for the office of the caretaker prime minister. The decision was announced after approval from the core committee of his party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).
Khan would remain the prime minister for the next 15 days and the general elections would be held within 90 days provided the Supreme Court verdict does not challenge the deputy speaker’s ruling in the parliament on April 3 in which he dismissed the no-trust vote against the prime minister.
