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Pakistan speaker seeks names from Imran Khan, Shehbaz Sharif for panel to appoint care-taker PM
Citing clause (1) of Article 224-A of the Pakistan Constitution, Qaiser requested Khan and Sharif to nominate four members from the treasury to appoint a caretaker prime minister.
Pakistan's national assembly speaker Asad Qaiser on Wednesday wrote to embattled Prime Minister Imran Khan and leader of opposition Shehbaz Sharif seeking names for a parliamentary committee to appoint a caretaker prime minister, even as the Supreme Court was hearing for the last four days the legality of the rejection of a no-confidence motion against Khan and the dissolution of the House.
Citing clause (1) of Article 224-A of the Pakistan Constitution, Qaiser requested Khan and Sharif to nominate four members from the treasury to appoint a caretaker prime minister.
"I have the honour to invite your attention to clause (1) of Article 224-A of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan which is reproduced for your convenience, as under: 224A (1) 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 care-taker 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," he wrote in the letter.
Khan had stunned the opposition parties on Sunday by recommending snap elections, after a no-confidence motion against him was dismissed by the deputy speaker of the National Assembly. Khan then got President Alvi to dissolve the 342-member National Assembly before its term ended in August 2023.
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The apex court within hours took suo motu notice of the political developments on Sunday and a five-member bench started hearing the case on Monday.
On Wednesday, Alvi asked the election commission to propose dates for holding general elections.
In a letter to the Election Commission of Pakistan, Alvi stated that he had to appoint a date, not later than 90 days from the date of dissolution of the National Assembly, for holding general elections.
"In order to carry out the mandate of the Constitution of announcing the date of general elections, consultation with the Election Commission is required under Section 57(1) of the Elections Act, 2017," the letter added.
