First round of talks: Consensus eludes Shehbaz Sharif, Raja Riaz over interim PM name

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif and the Leader of the Opposition, Raja Riaz, held the first round of talks here on Thursday but fell short of evolving a consensus on a name for the slot of caretaker prime minister.

“The opposition leader met Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif at the PM House today [Thursday] for consultation on the name of caretaker prime minister,” the PM Office said in a statement on Thursday evening.

The statement said the prime minister, as per constitutional requirement, had invited the opposition leader to hold consultation to finalise the caretaker prime minister’s name, adding that the first round of consultative process was held in a congenial atmosphere.

It was decided that the two leaders would meet again on Friday (today) to continue the consultation.

After the first round of consultation, Raja Riaz said the talks were held in a pleasant atmosphere, rejecting the impression that an imported caretaker prime minister was being installed.

“It has been decided that another round of consultation will be held on Friday. Till a name is not finalised, no name will be revealed,” said the NA opposition leader, an indication that both sides are keeping cards close to their chest. However, Riaz did confirm that he had shared the names of his candidates with the premier, hoping that things will become clear tomorrow.

“The prime minister and I have to hold consultations. I told the PM that I will consider his names and he should consider the names suggested by me,” said Riaz. He added that PM Shehbaz was unaware of the names suggested by him.

The opposition leader also said he was confident that PM Shehbaz and he would develop a consensus on a single candidate for the interim premier’s slot.

However, according to sources, Sadiq Sanjrani’s name also came to the fore during discussion as Raja Riaz proposed the Senate chairman’s name.

The sources said that Shehbaz also made a telephonic contact with party Quaid Nawaz Sharif on the issue.

Meanwhile, the prime minister, in a statement, said that he held a meeting with the opposition leader on Thursday, adding that hopefully they would agree on a final name for the slot of caretaker prime minister within three days.

Meanwhile, Sindh has started preparing for the caretaker setup in the province as the Sindh Assembly is set to complete its constitutional term this week.

According to local media, the provincial law department has prepared a draft of the summary for the dissolution of Sindh Assembly, which has been confirmed by Adviser to the CM on Law Murtaza Wahab.

The constitutional term of the Sindh Assembly will end on August 13, said Murtaza Wahab, while Sindh Assembly Speaker Agha Siraj Durrani has also declared August 13 as the last day of the assembly.

Murtaza Wahab also claimed it had been decided to dissolve the assembly ahead of time.

The law department will send the summary to the Sindh chief minister as per the procedure. Murad Ali Shah will send the advice to dissolve the Sindh Assembly today (Friday) to the Sindh governor, he added.

Also, there were reports that Murad Ali Shah has vacated the Sindh CM House.

Meanwhile, the ruling Balochistan Awami Party, in the largest province of the country, has finalised three names for the caretaker chief minister.

Balochistan Chief Minister and BAP President Abdul Qudoos Bizenjo finalised the names in consultation with the party leaders.

Bizenjo will present the nominated names to opposition leader Malik Sikandar during consultation on the caretaker set-up.

The appointment of the caretaker PM and caretaker chief ministers is made as per Article 224A of the Constitution. It says that in case the prime minister and the Leader of the Opposition in the outgoing National Assembly do not agree on any person to be appointed as the caretaker prime minister, within three days of the dissolution of the National Assembly, they shall forward two nominees each to a committee to be immediately constituted by the Speaker of the National Assembly, comprising eight members of the outgoing National Assembly, or the Senate, or both, having equal representation from the treasury and the opposition, to be nominated by the prime minister and the leader of the opposition respectively.

In case a chief minister and the Leader of the Opposition in the outgoing provincial assembly do not agree on any person to be appointed as the caretaker chief minister, within three days of the dissolution of that assembly, they shall forward two nominees each to a committee to be immediately constituted by the Speaker of the provincial assembly, comprising six members of the outgoing provincial assembly having equal representation from the treasury and the opposition, to be nominated by the chief minister and the leader of the opposition respectively.

Earlier on Thursday, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) barred the ministries, divisions and departments from postings and transfers until the caretaker government was installed at the federal level.

In a letter to the Establishment Division, ECP Secretary Omar Hamid Khan wrote that the National Assembly had been dissolved on August 10 and the federal cabinet de-notified. The caretaker prime minister and his cabinet will be installed soon.

He said that, however, it has been learnt that large-scale postings and transfers are being planned by various ministries, divisions and departments and institutions. “It is, therefore, desirable and advised that till the installation of the caretaker government at the federal level, postings and transfers may be avoided,” he wrote.

The commission said that as soon as the caretaker set-up is installed, transfers and postings can be made in accordance with the law and policy.