The prime minister proposed the name of former chief justice Gulzar Ahmed for the office of the caretaker leader of the nation, announced Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) leader Fawad Chaudhry Monday.
The development came hours after the president wrote to Imran Khan and the former National Assembly Opposition Leader Shehbaz Sharif to propose names of candidates for appointment as the caretaker prime minister under Article 224-A (1) of the Constitution. The letter observed that the National Assembly and the federal cabinet had been dissolved under Article 58(1) on Sunday. But added that Khan would continue to hold office until the caretaker prime minister’s appointment is made under Article 224-A(4).
Caretaker prime minister shall be appointed by the president in consultation with the prime minister and the leader of the opposition in the outgoing NA as per Article 224-A(1) of the Constitution of Pakistan,” the letter read.
In the letter, Dr Arif Alvi told the two that in case they do not agree on the appointment within three days of the dissolution of the National Assembly, they shall forward two nominees each to a committee to be constituted by the speaker, comprising eight members of the outgoing assembly, or the Senate, or both, having equal representation from the treasury and the opposition.
The members of that committee from the treasury and opposition benches are to be nominated by the prime minister and the leader of the opposition, respectively, in pursuance of Article 224-A(1).
“It is worth stating that the Constitution has empowered the president, under Article 224-A(1), to appoint a caretaker prime minister in consultation with the prime minister and the leader of the opposition in the outgoing NA,” a separate handout issued by the President’s Secretariat said.
