Khawaja Asif hints at appointment of politician as caretaker PM

ISLAMABAD: Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif asserted that a senior politician or a retired bureaucrat may be appointed caretaker prime minister (PM) as consultations with allied parties on interim setup were underway, ARY News reported on Tuesday.

Speaking to a private news channel, the defence minister reiterated that the national and provincial assemblies will be dissolved before the completion of their tenure.

“No names have been finalised for caretaker setup yet,” Khawaja Asif said, adding that a senior politician or a retired bureaucrat may be appointed as caretaker prime minister (PM).

In response to a question, Asif said PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif’s return – who has been in self-imposed exile in London since November 2019 – before the upcoming general elections in the country is necessary.

He pointed out that they have a threat from the behaviour of “good to see you” — referring to the Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial.

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The defence minister expressed his severe concerns over the behaviour of the apex court, especially during the past few months, saying: “One should not take the risk of Nawaz Sharif’s return” in this situation.

The PML-N leader said that his party workers have been waiting for their supreme leader for the past three and half years. He added that injustice was made to the three-time former prime minister.

It is pertinent to mention here that CJP Bandial-led three-member bench on May 11 directed the anti-graft agency National Accountability Bureau (NAB) to present PTI Chairman Imran Khan two days after his arrest in a graft case.

Later, the former prime minister was presented before the bench in Courtroom No. 1, under a tight security cordon.

At the outset of the hearing, Imran Khan was greeted by the incumbent chief justice who welcomed him by saying: “Good to see you.”