Abbasi, Shah agree on caretaker PM

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and Opposition Leader in the National Assembly Syed Khursheed Shah have reached a consensus on the name of caretaker prime minister before the nation goes to polls.

However, the two leaders agreed to not make the name public until May 15. The task for announcing the name of caretaker prime minister was given to Syed Khursheed Shah. Khursheed is likely to announce the caretaker PM’s name on May 15 after a formal meeting with Shahid Khaqan Abbasi the same day.

According to sources, there was a complete understanding between the two leaders that no retired general or judge will lead the caretaker set-up but a retired bureaucrat with reputation and a former politician would be options for the post.

The sources said a retired judge could also be considered for the post. According sources close to the opposition leader, the two leaders had discussed six names and both had agreed on one name that would be made public on May 15.

Sources said Khursheed was tight-lipped about the name of the caretaker prime minister. Last time, the two leaders had named Justice (Retd) Javed Iqbal as the chairman NAB but now they have serious reservations about him following the allegations of money laundering against ex-prime minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif.

At the same time, the question arises whether the other major opposition party — the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf — will agree over the name of the caretaker prime minister. According to PTI sources, so far Khursheed Shah had made no formal consultation with the PTI on the name of the caretaker prime minister.

The party is closely monitoring the situation and will take the future line of action once name is made public. The PTI had forwarded the names of ex-governor State Bank of Pakistan Dr Ishrat Hussain, ex-chief justice (R) Tassaduq Hussain Jilani and ex-commerce minister Abdul Razak Dawood for the caretaker PM but Khursheed Shah slammed the PTI after the media came to know their names.

The government’s term ends on May 31 after which the caretaker setup will take over the governance affairs. Former chairman Senate Mian Raza Rabbani Wednesday urged Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and Khursheed Shah to arrive at a consensus candidate for the caretaker prime minister and avoid sending a set of names to the Election Commission of Pakistan. “The appointment of caretaker prime minister is a political question and Parliament and all political parties should walk the extra mile to achieve this consensus,” Rabbani suggested.