Allied parties authorised PM Shehbaz to pick caretaker premier: PPP’s Kundi

Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) leader Faisal Karim Kundi on Saturday revealed that all the allied and Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) parties had handed over powers to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to select a caretaker premier.

The PPP leader made the remarks while reacting to the unexpected decision about the appointment of Senator Anwar-ul-Haq Kakar — from Balochistan Awami Party (BAP) — as a caretaker prime minister.  

Earlier today, Senator Kakar was selected as caretaker prime minister. The development came after PM Shehbaz Sharif and Leader of the Opposition in the outgoing National Assembly Raja Riaz reached a consensus on the name of Kakar for the coveted slot during the second round of consultation. Later a summary to this effect was approved by President Arif Alvi under Article 224 1A.

Speaking during Geo News’ programme Naya Pakistan, Kundi said PPP neither had reservations nor objections on the name of Kakar. He maintained that the caretaker prime minister-designate does not belong to field politics.

Responding to a question, the PPP leader said that the caretaker government in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) was performing like an elected government, adding that transfer and posting was not the job of the interim setup.

A day earlier, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Governor Haji Ghulam Ali accepted the resignations of 25 members of the interim cabinet — who stepped down from their posts in light of the directions issued by interim Chief Minister Azam Khan.

The development came after the interim provincial chief executive asked his cabinet members to submit their resignations after receiving a letter from the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) regarding politically affiliated people in the cabinet.

Last month, the electoral authority directed the KP caretaker CM to immediately “de-notify” ministers, advisers and special assistants “involved in politics”.

To another query, the PPP leader said the allied parties wanted elections to be held in 90 days after the dissolution of the National Assembly.

On August 9, President Dr Arif Alvi assented to the premature dissolution of the National Assembly shortly after PM Shehbaz forwarded the summary.

“The president dissolved the National Assembly on the advice of the prime minister under Article 58-1 of the Constitution,” read an official statement issued by the President's Office on X, formerly known as Twitter, late Wednesday.

“Political parties should not run away from the election,” he said adding that they should go into polls immediately. The PPP leader also raised questions over the government’s haste in passing the bills from the assemblies days before the end of its constitutional term.