Caretaker PM talks ‘premature’, consultations yet to start: Pakistan Finance Minister Dar
Islamabad, July 26
Pakistan’s Finance Minister Ishaq Dar has dismissed reports that he is the front runner for the post of caretaker prime minister, saying such talks are “premature” and consultations have not yet begun.
In an interview with a private television channel on Tuesday, the 73-year-old leader said the ruling alliance Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) would decide on the appointment.
The mainstream media in Pakistan had reported the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party is considering proposing Dar’s name as the caretaker prime minister of the cash-strapped country once the term of the current National Assembly ends next month.
Dar’s name came into focus as Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif-led government mulled changes in the Elections Act 2017 to empower the upcoming caretaker set-up to take decisions beyond its constitutional mandate, with a view to ensure continuity of the recently rolled out economic plan and expedite the process aimed at receiving foreign investment in state-owned entities, The Express Tribune newspaper reported on Sunday.
Dar said he would accept the leadership’s decision on the appointment, but noted that the caretaker setup’s powers should be enhanced, Geo News reported.
He said the interim government’s tenure should be 90 days, not 60 days — as sources have indicated that the PDM-led government may dissolve assemblies before their term ends, providing the caretaker setup 90 days.
He added that the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) is responsible for holding polls in a transparent manner.
Under Pakistan’s Constitution, polls are to be held within 60 days if the National Assembly completes its term. But if the assembly is dissolved prematurely, even if by a day, it would give the government 90 days to conduct elections. The caretaker prime minister will administer the country until a new government is formed after the general elections.
The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) has reportedly shown reluctance in backing Dar.
Defence Minister Khawaja Asif has also dismissed reports that Dar is being considered for the post, saying no one close to the top PML-N leadership — the Sharif family — would be picked as the interim prime minister to ensure that fingers are not pointed at the caretaker setup.
Meanwhile, strong opposition from both friends and foes forced the government to defer for one day its plan to give “unbridled powers” to the caretaker set-up, as part of electoral reforms, the Dawn newspaper reported.
Under the plan, the text cleared by the Parliamentary Committee on Electoral Reforms was to be passed through a shortcut, with the last-minute addition of a controversial clause to enlarge the scope of the caretakers, which would have allowed them to decide on “urgent matters”.
An election amendment bill already passed by the National Assembly, which could not be passed by the Senate within 90 days, was placed on the agenda of the joint sitting on Tuesday, the report said.
The government wanted the long list of electoral reforms to be passed through an amendment in the same bill and even parliamentarians were unaware of the changes introduced, it said.
Former Senate chairman Raza Rabbani raised a procedural objection, saying that under the rules, a clear day’s notice was required if amendments were to be moved in a bill on the agenda, it added.
Defence Minister Asif also agreed that the bill be deferred for a day. The National Assembly speaker deferred the bill to give lawmakers time to read the amendments.
