• Marriyum says no one ‘chosen or ruled out’ for interim premier’s slot
• PM Shehbaz meets JUI-F, ANP heads to discuss interim set-up

ISLAMABAD: With the tenure of the National Assembly expected to end in less than two weeks, speculation is rife about the composition of the interim set-up, seemingly fuelled by the silence of the federal government which is set to kick-start the process for the appointment of the caretaker prime minister soon.

Though Information Min­is­­t­er Marriyum Auran­­­­g­zeb said on Mon­day the appointment of the interim premier would be carried out in line with the Constitution, she did not mention when the process would be initiated.

PM Shehbaz Sharif has not chosen or ruled out any candidate for interim prime minister, she said in a tweet, reiterating the decision will be taken after consultation with allied parties and PML-N supreme leader Nawaz Sharif.

She said the PM would consult all allied parties in the government and would obtain guidance from the elder Sharif to identify the “most suitable candidate”. The minister said that after consulting with allies, the prime minister would consult with the leader of the opposition in the National Assembly to take a decision on the matter.

PM Shehbaz and Maulana Fazlur Rehman also held a meeting on Monday to take stock of the political situation in the aftermath of the deadly bombing that killed scores of JUI-F workers in Bajaur on Sunday.

Sources said the premier discussed the caretaker set-up with the Maulana, who also heads the multi-party government alliance, PDM. The PM office said the premier expressed condolence over the killing of over 50 JUI-F workers and supporters.

A similar meeting was also held with Awami National Party chief Aimal Wali Khan.

The PM has already met PPP leaders Bilawal Bhutto-Zardrai and Asif Ali Zardari, MQM convener Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui, Jamhoori Watan Party (JWP) President Shahzain Bugti on the matter of the interim government.

A meeting between the NA opposition leader and the prime minister is expected to be held this week. “My meeting with the prime minister is expected around August 1 where we will exchange names for the caretaker prime minister,” Raja Riaz had said last week.

It is also believed that the leader of the opposition will not object to the candidate finalised by the PM and the ruling alliance. Several names have been doing the rounds for several days, but there has been no official or unofficial word in this regard.

Several attempts were made to contact Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb, but she was not available for comment.

PPP Central Information Secretary and Minister of State for Poverty Alleviation and Social Safety Faisal Karim Kundi said that so far, the PM had not shared any name with the PPP for the slot of caretaker prime minister.

He said the PPP Central Executive Committee will meet today (Tuesday) to decide on names to be proposed by the PPP leadership. Mr Kundi said after finalising the names, a PPP delegation will meet the prime minister.

Last month, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar was billed as the caretaker PM. However, allied parties and the opposition reacted strongly to these speculations, forcing the PM to rule out the possibility of a ‘partisan’ candidate for the coveted post.

“A neutral man should be made caretaker prime minister so that no one could raise fingers on the transparent election process,” he said in a recent interview.

He said he had not nominated anyone for the slot of caretaker prime minister and asserted that he would consult all coalition parties and PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif over the matter before meeting the NA opposition leader for a consensus.

Published in Dawn, August 1st, 2023