Making efforts to decide caretaker PM through Parliament: Shah
PM Abbasi, Khursheed Shah to meet again on Wednesday or Thursday to finalise name
May 22, 2018
ISLAMABAD: Opposition Leader in the National Assembly Khursheed Shah on Tuesday said both the government and the opposition are trying their best to finalise the name of caretaker prime minister through the Parliament.
Shah met with Prime Minister Abbasi at the PM House earlier today, but no consensus could be reached on the name for the position of caretaker premier.
Another meeting will be held with the prime minister on Wednesday or Thursday to finalise the caretaker premier, Shah informed media after the meeting.
The opposition leader said both the parties are trying their best to use a parliamentary solution to agree upon the name.
He told the media that the matter would be given some more thought within the next one or two days, so that the finalised name is agreed upon by the government as well as the opposition.
"If not, then [a four-member committee] will be constituted, to which the names will be sent within three days and the majority decision will be [implemented]," Shah said.
He added that he has put forward names of senior bureaucrats for consideration for the post of caretaker PM.
According to sources, the government has suggested names of former chief justice of Pakistan Justice (retd) Nasir-ul-Mulk, Justice (retd) Tassaduq Hussain Jillani – also a former chief justice – and former State Bank governor Dr Shamshad Akhtar.
Pakistan's permanent representative to the United Nations Dr Maleeha Lodhi, who was earlier touted as among the favourites for the post, is missing from the list, sources said.
The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) has finalised the names of Zaka Ashraf and Jalil Abbas Jilani for the caretaker prime minister. Sources informed Geo News earlier that Khursheed Shah had forwarded these names to PM Abbasi and PPP co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari had telephoned Ashraf and Jilani informing them of the party’s decision.
Former Pakistan Ambassador to the United Nations Abdullah Hussain Haroon and former State Bank governor Dr Ishrat Hussain are also being speculated for the post.
