ISLAMABAD – The Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) on Monday finalized the names to be discussed with Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi for next caretaker setup.
Former chairman of Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Zaka Ashraf and former foreign secretary Jalil Abbas Jilani are the PPP’s nominees for the post of caretaker prime minister.
Opposition leader in National Assembly Khursheed Shah has forwarded these names to Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi.
PPP co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari has informed Ashraf and Jilani that the party selected them on the basis of their hard work and honesty.
Zaka Ashraf is the former chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board. He has also served as the adviser to chief minister Sindh from 1988-1990.
Jilani has a foreign service background having served as Pakistan’s Ambassador to the United States and as country’s Foreign Secretary.
However, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) rejected PPP’s nominees, saying Zaka is ‘unacceptable’ and voiced reservations over Jilani.
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The suspense over the caretaker PM will remain in the air until the name is announced by the government.
Khursheed Shah, last week, said that the government and opposition had finalized the name and it will be announced on Tuesday (tomorrow).
The interim PM will be in office until the general elections in July. The prime responsibility of the caretaker government is to ensure that the elections are held in a transparent manner and the basic machinery of the government continues without an elected setup in place.
However, if the prime minister and the opposition leader fail to agree on a name, both will announce three names which will be referred to a parliamentary committee to be formed by National Assembly Speaker, Sardar Ayaz Sadiq.
Even if the committee fails to decide the interim PM, the nominee’s list will be referred to the Election Commission of Pakistan which will then exercise its authority to make the decision.
