Former chief justice, State Bank governor among PTI nominees for caretaker PM

Published April 16, 2018
Retired Justice Tassaduq Hussain Jillani (left) and Dr Ishrat Hussain (right) are among the PTI's nominees for caretaker prime minister.
Retired Justice Tassaduq Hussain Jillani (left) and Dr Ishrat Hussain (right) are among the PTI's nominees for caretaker prime minister.

The Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) on Monday finalised the names for the caretaker prime minister and the Punjab chief minister, DawnNewsTV reported.

Retired Justice Tassaduq Hussain Jillani, industrialist Abdur Razzaq Dawood and banker-cum-economist Ishrat Hussain were the three nominees finalised by the party for the position of caretaker prime minister, PTI Spokesman Fawad Chaudhry said.

The present government will conclude its five-year term on May 31, after which the caretaker setup will be put in place to hold elections, expected in July or the first week of August.

According to the party, Shah Mehmood Qureshi will present the names to Leader of the Opposition in National Assembly Khursheed Shah, who is responsible for forwarding opposition nominees for the position to the prime minister.

Shah and Prime MInister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi have already held the first round of consultations regarding the all-important position as the responsibility for holding free and fair elections is tied to it.

Justice Jillani has served as the chief justice of Pakistan between 2013 and 2014 and was also appointed as an ad hoc judge on behalf of Pakistan at the International Court of Justice in Indian spy Kulbhushan Jadhav's case last year.

Economist Ishrat Hussain has served as the governor of State Bank of Pakistan as well as dean of the Institute of Business Administration (IBA), Karachi.

Dawood, an industrialist by profession, served as commerce minister in former president Pervez Musharraf's cabinet between 1999 and 2002.

Meanwhile, party sources said that the names of Dr Salman Shah, Shahid Kardar and former bureaucrat Tariq Khosa have been finalised for the position of caretaker chief minister of Punjab.

Leader of Opposition in the Punjab Assembly Mahmoodur Rasheed will present the nominees for the position to incumbent Chief MInister Shahbaz Sharif after consultation with other opposition parties in the province, sources said.

Dr Shah has served as finance minister and adviser to the prime minister on finance under Shaukat Aziz, while Shahid Kardar, son of former cricketer Abdul Hafeez Kardar, is a former governor of the State Bank and currently the vice chancellor of Beaconhouse National university, Lahore.

Khosa retired as Narcotics secretary. In his 38 years of service, he served on many important posts, including director general Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), DG National Police Bureau, and deputy inspector general (DIG) of Police in many divisions.

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