Misbah Latif
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is expected to send his advice to President Arif Alvi for the dissolution of the National Assembly today, sources told The News.
A day after, on Wednesday, the president may dissolve the assembly, the source confided to the publication as the federal ministers hint at months of delay in elections due to a fresh delimitation exercise that has become mandatory after the approval of 2023 census results.
The dissolution of the National Assembly will pave the way for the commencement of a caretaker government. One name, which consistently remained under discussion for the last few weeks, is that of Dr Hafeez Shaikh.
Shaikh has been the finance minister of the Imran Khan government. Before that, he was the top finance wizard of the last PPP government.
Dr Hafeez Shaikh has also been the favourite of the establishment.
Although the prime minister and the leadership of the Opposition have yet to meet and decide on the name of the interim premier, Shaikh is considered as the most favorite by many.
In case the prime minister and the leader of the opposition do not agree on any name, the matter will be referred to a parliamentary committee. And in case the parliamentary committee does not reach any conclusion, the matter will be left for the Election Commission of Pakistan to decide.
On Sunday, Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah said in a Geo talk show that the names of Dr Hafeez Shaikh and a retired judge have been shortlisted for the slot of interim prime minister.
However, it was being discussed for the last few weeks that an economist may lead the caretaker government because of the focus required on the financial issues.
For the same reason, parliament recently passed a bill moved by the government to empower the caretaker government with the required authority of decision-making.
It has been said by the government ministers and some others that steps taken by the present government with the support of the military for the revival of the economy can’t afford a break or slowdown during the caretaker set-up.
Besides securing the IMF deal, the civil-military leadership of the country wanted to ensure that the decision-making and projects’ implementation under Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC) remain smooth during the caretaker setup, which previously before the recent amendments to the Election Act 2017 was authorised only to take care of day to day affairs of the government.
With the approval of census 2023 by the Council of Common Interests, the tenure of the caretaker government is expected to extend by March 2024 at least. The dissolution of the National Assembly on the advice of the prime minister will give the ECP a 90 days period to hold general elections.
However, in view of the approval and publication of the census 2023, the ECP will require around four months to complete the delimitation of constituencies in light of the latest population census.
