No decision made on caretaker PM, meeting adjourned
ISLAMABAD: The meeting of the eight-member parliamentary committee formed for appointing a caretaker prime minister concluded on Wednesday without any decisions taken by the members, DawnNews reported.
Names of Justice (retd) Mir Hazar Khan Khoso and Rasul Bakhsh Palijo were discussed in today's meeting while other nominees for the post of caretaker premier will be discussed in remaining two sessions of the committee.
The treasury benches are being represented in the committee by PML-Q chief Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, PPP leaders Syed Khursheed Ahmad Shah and Farooq H. Naek and Haji Ghulam Ahmed Bilour of the ANP.
Senator Pervez Rasheed, Sardar Mehtab Ahmed Khan, Khawaja Saad Rafiq and Sardar Mohammad Yaqoob Khan Nasar are representing the PML-N.
The committee was constituted on Tuesday after the prime minister and the opposition leader failed to reach a consensus on a name for caretaker prime minister.
Under the constitution, the parliamentary committee has to evolve a consensus on one name for the caretaker prime minister within three days and if it fails to do so in the stipulated time, the matter will automatically go to the Election Commission, which will have to finalise one name out of four, two each from the prime minister and the opposition leader in the NA.
Initially, the PPP had proposed the names of Dr Abdul Hafeez Sheikh, Dr Ishrat Hussain, and Justice (retd) Mir Hazar Khan Khoso for the position of caretaker PM. Moreover, the Pakistan Muslim League – Nawaz had proposed the names of Justice (retd) Nasir Aslam Zahid, Justice (retd) Shakirullah Jan and Rasul Bakhsh Palijo.
Earlier on Wednesday, President Asif Ali Zardari announced that the NA elections would be held on May 11, 2013.
Subsequently, the committee meeting was adjourned until tomorrow.