ISLAMABAD: On Monday, President Dr. Arif Alvi sent a letter to incumbent Prime Minister Imran Ahmad Khan Niazi and Leader of the Opposition in the outgoing National Assembly Mian Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif, to propose a suitable person for the caretaker prime minister.
The letter has been written under Article 224 A (1) of the Constitution of Pakistan in the wake of the dissolution of the National Assembly on Sunday.
The letter 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.
The Committee shall comprise 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 pursuance of Article 224A(1) of the Constitution of Pakistan.
President Alvi mentioned in the letter that the incumbent Prime Minister Imran Ahmad Khan Niazi would continue to hold the office of the prime minister till the appointment of the caretaker under Article 224A(4) of the Constitution.
It is worth stating that the Constitution of the country empowers the President, under Article 224(1A), to appoint a caretaker prime minister in consultation with the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition in the outgoing National Assembly.