Caretaker PM: Talks between Shehbaz, Riaz remain inconclusive

ISLAMABAD: Outgoing Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Raja Riaz, Thursday, failed in their first round of consultation to decide the name of caretaker prime minister to oversee the forthcoming general elections in the country.

Both the leaders decided to meet again Friday (Aug 11) for the second round of consultation to try to select an impartial name for the slot of caretaker prime minister.

The consultative meeting was held at the Prime Minister’s House, in which, they could not reach a consensus on the name for the caretaker premier.

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Talking to media outside the Prime Minister’s House, Opposition Leader Riaz said, “With a consensus, we have decided that there will be another meeting Friday (Aug 11).”

He said that an hour-long meeting with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif was held in a cordial and conducive environment.

“I will deliberate on the names given by the prime minister and similarly, the prime minister will go through the names given by me … a meeting will be held again Friday (Aug 11),” he said.

Answering a question, he refused to reveal any of the candidates under consideration for the caretaker prime minister’s slot and said six names came under discussion during Thursday’s meeting and all of them were “respectable people”.

“We will hold further deliberations tomorrow and hope that things will become pretty clear after that,” he added.

The opposition leader also said that he is confident that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and he would develop a consensus on a single candidate for the interim premier’s slot.

On the other hand, the Prime Minister’s Office in a statement confirmed that further deliberations between Riaz and Shehbaz will be held Friday (Aug 11).

Prime Minister Shehbaz had formally invited Opposition Leader Riaz for the meeting for consultation in a letter.

In his letter, the premier said that the president has dissolved the National Assembly under Article 58(1) of the Constitution and that he is ready to fulfil his constitutional responsibility for the appointment of the caretaker prime minister.

A process to appoint a caretaker prime minister will be conducted under Article 224-A of the Constitution, which will usher in an interim government to oversee elections. However, three names have been proposed, including two nominations — former diplomat Jalil Abbas Jilani and former chief justice of Pakistan Tassaduq Hussain Jilani — sent by the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and Sindh Governor Kamran Tessori by Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P). However, there’s no public announcement by the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) in this regard.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2023