Senator Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar, a lawmaker from Balochistan, has been selected as caretaker prime minister to oversee national elections, a statement from the Prime Minister's Office said on Saturday after a meeting between outgoing premier Shehbaz Sharif and opposition leader Raja Riaz.
Both Sharif and Riaz are racing against time to finalise the name of the caretaker premier to oversee general elections later this year, after the president gave them an ultimatum to find a "suitable person" for the appointment by August 12, reported PTI. Sharif and Riaz began rounds of meetings to pick a caretaker prime minister following the dissolution of the National Assembly on August 9.
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In a letter to both Prime Minister Sharif and Riaz, President Arif Alvi informed them that under Article 224A they are supposed to propose a name for interim prime minister within three days of the dissolution of the National Assembly, the report said.
“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, it added.
Reacting to the president’s letter, Sharif said that he was disappointed to receive it, it said.
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Sharif said the Constitution provided eight days for the appointment of the caretaker premier after the dissolution of the National Assembly (NA), the lower house of Parliament, it added.
According to the Constitution, the premier and the outgoing opposition leader in the NA have three days to decide the name of the interim prime minister, it said.
In case the two fail to agree on a name, the matter would be referred to a parliamentary committee. If the committee fails to make any decision, then the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) will have two days to choose the caretaker prime minister from the list of names shared with the commission.
