Caretaker PM: Shehbaz-Raja meeting delayed

ISLAMABAD: The much-anticipated Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s meeting — scheduled to take place at 4 pm today — with Opposition Leader in the National Assembly, Raja Riaz for finalising a name for the caretaker prime minister slot has been delayed, ARY News reported quoting sources.

Pakistan’s parliament is due to be dissolved today. The prime minister after addressing the lower house of the parliament will forward a summary to President Dr Arif Alvi for dissolution of the 15th National Assembly of Pakistan.

Who will be Caretaker PM?

Who will be the Caretaker PM, who will lead the country to the upcoming election, is a question running rumor mills across the country. Whether the caretaker prime minister will be a bureaucrat or a politician, is likely to be decided in the upcoming meeting of PM Shehbaz Sharif and opposition leader Raja Riaz.

According to government sources, a bureaucrat has been frontrunner in the caretaker prime minister’s race.

The names of Ishaq Dar, Hafeez Sheikh and Justice Shakeel Baloch among others have surfaced for the interim premier’s slot. The name of Hafeez Sheikh, a former finance minister of Pakistan also being taken for a key portfolio in the upcoming caretaker setup.

The prime minister and the opposition leader have to reach to a consensus for the top office of the interim set up within a span of three days. If they fail to reach a decision the matter will be decided by a parliamentary body within next three days, if the deadlock persists, the election commission will announce the name of caretaker prime minister in next two days.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday denied the finalisation of any candidate for the post, denying any shortlisting of candidates in an interview.