‘Dar qualifies to become caretaker PM’

ISLAMABAD: Constitutional expert Amjad Pervez says that Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue Senator Muhammad Ishaq Dar, who is also Leader of the House in Senate, qualifies for the slot of caretaker prime minister as per provisions of the constitution if he is appointed by the leaders of the house and opposition of the National Assembly.

The constitutional expert says that Senator Dar is, however, not required to quit his Senate membership if he is appointed caretaker prime minister. By way of explanation, Pervez points to when former Senate chairman Muhammadmian Soomro became caretaker prime minister -- on November 15, 2007 -- after conducting the 2008 elections, he returned to his position as Senate chairman.

Caretaker cabinet members possess the same powers and responsibilities as the elected prime ministers, chief ministers and ministers they replace. The caretaker prime minister and provincial chief ministers have full authority to appoint persons of their choice to key positions in the bureaucracy -- in consultation with the ECP.

The only legal restriction on the caretaker administration is that the caretaker prime minister, chief ministers, ministers, their spouses and their children are not eligible to contest the election conducted under the caretaker government. Pervez shares Article 224-A(1B) of the constitution, which reads as: “members of the caretaker cabinets including the caretaker prime minister and the caretaker chief minister and their immediate family members shall not be eligible to contest the immediately following elections to such assemblies....In this clause, ‘immediate family members’ means spouse and children.”

There are no legal qualifications for appointment, but it is understood that those appointed to the positions should be neutral and have no known affiliation with any political party.

The 18th and 20th Amendments to the constitution have made the selection of the caretaker prime minister, chief ministers and federal and provincial ministers more consultative and transparent. The president is required to appoint a caretaker prime minister in consultation with the incumbent prime minister and the leader of the opposition. Caretaker ministers are appointed by the president on the advice of the prime minister; in this case, consultation between the prime minister and the opposition is not required. The same is true for the provincial caretaker cabinet.

If the prime minister and the leader of the opposition cannot agree on a caretaker prime minister within three days of the dissolution of the National Assembly, they will each forward two names to a Parliamentary Committee tasked with making the decision. The committee should comprise eight members of the outgoing National Assembly and/or Senate with equal representation from the government and the opposition. The members will be nominated by the prime minister and the leader of the opposition. The committee must finalize its decision within three days.

The same procedure is used for the appointment of a caretaker chief minister by a provincial governor. In this case, the committee would have six members instead of eight.

If there are fewer than five members of the opposition in parliament or fewer than four in a provincial assembly, they will all be members of the Committee.

Constitutional experts explain that if the committee also fails to agree on a name, the matter is referred to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), which will make the final decision within two days.

During the appointment process, the incumbent prime minister/chief minister continues in his/her position until the caretaker replacement is appointed.