Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah on Sunday confirmed that former finance minister Abdul Hafeez Shaikh is in consideration for the slot of caretaker prime minister, adding that a retired judge of the Supreme Court was also on the shortlist.
Speaking with Geo News’ Naya Pakistan show, he said Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif would finalize the name for the interim prime minister by Wednesday, ahead of the dissolution of the National Assembly. The prime minister, addressing a public gathering earlier in the day, confirmed that the National Assembly would be dissolved on Aug. 9, three days ahead of the expiry of its constitutional term, to allow the Election Commission of Pakistan 90 days to conduct polls. If Parliament stands dissolved after completing its tenure, the ECP must conduct polls within 60 days.
While the interior minister did not specify the retired judge he was referring to, sources have claimed former chief justice of Pakistan Tassaduq Hussain Jilani is in consideration.
To a question, Sanaullah said the government’s aim was to appoint a “neutral” caretaker prime minister, adding this was why both Finance Minister Ishaq Dar and former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi had not been included in the shortlist. “When the name of Ishaq Dar was circulating in the media, it was decided that an apolitical person would be chosen as the caretaker prime minister,” he said.
According to local media, former Punjab governor Makhdoom Ahmed Mehmood; MNA Aslam Bhutani; and former bureaucrat Fawad Hasan Fawad are also in the race for caretaker prime minister.
Sources within the government have claimed PMLN leader Nawaz Sharif would finalize three names for the caretaker prime minister, which would then to be shared with Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Raja Riaz. The prime minister and Riaz, they said, would then pick one name from the list.
During his TV appearance, Sanaullah also weighed in on general elections under the new census, claiming it was the demand of all political parties and provinces. He acknowledged that this would likely delay the polls by up to 4 months, with polls falling in February or March 2024 rather than November.