Who will be Caretaker PM, a bureaucrat or politician?

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Leader of Opposition Raja Riaz meeting today to discuss and decide the name of the Caretaker PM, who will lead the interim government and oversee the elections for the next elected government of Pakistan.

The National Assembly will be dissolved today after Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s address to the farewell session. 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 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, likely to be decided in the upcoming meeting of PM Shehbaz Sharif and opposition leader Raja Riaz in a meeting scheduled for today.

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.

The premier added that consultations with the governments allies and his own party members on the matter were a continuous process that would be completed within a day or two.

Defence Minister and PML-N stalwart Khawaja Asif claimed yesterday that a person could be appointed as a caretaker prime minister who is not among shortlisted names.

While talking to a news channel, Khawaja Asif said that the opposition leader Raja Riaz is equally participating in the nomination process for caretaker PM.

He claimed that the decision will be finalised on Wednesday (today). Asif claimed that many people are eyeing to become the caretaker PM as the caretaker set-up’s tenure could likely be extended.

The defence minister was of the view that the general elections should be held in the first quarter of 2024.