National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser on Wednesday wrote letters to interim Prime Minister Imran Khan and Leader of the Opposition Shehbaz Sharif regarding the formation of a parliamentary committee for the appointment of a caretaker prime minister.
The speaker, in the letters written under the powers assigned to him under Article 224A-1 of the Constitution, sought the names of four members each from both the leaders. Earlier this week, President Arif Alvi had sent letters to PM Imran Khan and Shehbaz Sharif to seek suggestions for the appointment of a caretaker prime minister. However, both the leaders failed to reach a consensus.
Asad Qaisar cited Article 224A (1) of the Constitution in the letter, which says “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.”
