Finance Minister Ishaq Dar on Sunday all-but-confirmed plans to amend Section 230 of the Elections Act in the ongoing session of the National Assembly to empower the interim government to take “important” decisions.
Speaking with Adil Shahzeb on his Dawn News TV show—the full contents of which are to be broadcast tonight (Monday)—he said that to the “best of my understanding,” Section 230 pertaining to the functions of a caretaker government would be amended. “I don’t think this is something to hide from the nation. They will find out and it should be amended,” he said, claiming the country’s condition could not improve if an interim government focused solely on “day-to-day” tasks.
To a follow-up question on whether the new amendments would empower the caretaker prime minister to take important decisions, Dar said the appointee should be in a position where they could adopt major policies.
Anchor Shahzeb also asked the finance minister to address rumors of him being considered for the caretaker prime minister’s position. According to Dar, he does not believe in pursuing or desiring any higher office, but added that it would be “premature” to comment on this at this juncture. However, he emphasized, whoever was appointed the caretaker prime minister would enjoy his complete support as both a senator and leader of the house in the Senate.
The tenure of the National Assembly is set to expire on Aug. 12. In recent weeks, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has suggested it would be dissolved a few days ahead of schedule to allow the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) up to 90 days to conduct elections. Under the Constitution, elections must take place within 60 days if an assembly completes its tenure.
It is likely that both houses of Parliament would adopt the Electoral Reforms Bill introducing major changes to the Election Act 2017 within this week. In addition to enhancing the powers of the caretaker government, the amendments also seek to strengthen the ECP and increase scrutiny of candidates in a transparent manner.