Shehbaz Sharif to hold talks with Opposition leader again on nominating caretaker premier

The meeting was held at the Prime Minister’s House, followed by a media briefing by the Opposition leader at Parliament House.

Pakistan's outgoing Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and the Leader of the Opposition will hold talks again on Friday over the nomination for a caretaker premier to conduct the general elections later this year.

A day after the dissolution of the National Assembly (NA), Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday met Opposition leader Raja Riaz to exchange a list of probable candidates for the coveted slot.

The meeting was held at the Prime Minister’s House, said a statement.

It was followed by a media briefing by Riaz at Parliament House during which he asserted that they were in no hurry to decide the name for the caretaker prime minister, the Dawn newspaper reported.

It is also believed that the outgoing prime minister will announce the name of the caretaker premier on August 12, but the oath-taking ceremony would take place on August 14 evening or the next day, the paper said.

Some in political circles believe that Shehbaz Sharif wants to stay in office till August 14 so he could attend the flag-hoisting ceremony on Independence Day, after which a caretaker prime minister will take an oath.

As per the Constitution, Shehbaz Sharif can act as the caretaker prime minister till the appointment of the head of the interim set-up.

One of the reasons for the delay in deciding the name of the head of the interim set-up is believed to be Shehbaz Sharif's Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s desire to see its own man in office.

Sources said PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif and Pakistan People's Party leader Asif Ali Zardari were calling the shots on the issue of the appointment of the caretaker prime minister in consultation with the “third party,” the paper said.

As both sides held the names of nominees close to their chest, Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani emerged as “one of the strongest contenders” for the post. He held separate meetings with Shehbaz Sharif and Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman.

A senior leader of the PML-N told Dawn that Sanjrani was “one of the strongest candidates.”

“The Senate chairman can be the dark horse,” he said.

Other possible contenders are former diplomat Jilal Abbas Jilani, former finance ministers Hafeez Sheikh and Ishaq Dar, former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, ex-principal secretary Fawad Hassan Fawad and ex-justice Tassaduq Jilan.

Riaz said no “imported” person will be made the head of the interim set-up.

“We will not disclose the name of the caretaker premier before time,” he added.

A source in the Prime Minister's office told the Dawn newspaper that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Riaz have two more days to decide the name of the caretaker premier.

The insider added it will be announced by Saturday (August 12).

“They cannot go beyond three days’ time; otherwise, the matter will automatically refer to the parliamentary committee,” he added.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif dissolved the National Assembly on August 9, three days before the mandated term, therefore, according to the constitution, the next general elections will be held in 90 days’ time.

Shehbaz Sharif and Riaz have three days to agree on a name for the caretaker premier, otherwise, the Speaker of the defunct assembly would appoint an eight-member panel, including four lawmakers each from the treasury and opposition benches, to forge an agreement.

Both sides, the prime minister and leader of the opposition, can put forward a maximum of two names for the top post.

The panel has three days to agree and in case it fails, all names considered during its meetings would be sent to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) which would appoint one of them as the interim premier within 48 hours.

The polls are expected to be delayed for a couple of months as new census results have been approved, which makes it a constitutional obligation to carry out delimitation before elections.

The ECP is bound to carry out delimitation within 120 days and then announce the election schedule.