KARACHI: Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah and Leader of the Opposition in the dissolved Sindh Assembly Rana Ansar will reach a consensus on a candidate for the post of interim head of government by midnight, the current provincial chief executive said on Monday.
Chief Minister Murad and Ansar will meet for the third time today to discuss the names of the proposed candidates and select one of them for the caretaker setup in the province, which is scheduled to take place after the dissolution of the Sindh Assembly on August 11.
It should be noted that today is the third and last day of consultation between the two leaders on this issue as according to law a decision has to be taken within three days of dissolution of the assembly.
Ansar will once again go to the Chief Minister’s House for consultation today and three names will be suggested from each side.
Chief Minister Murad said that 12-13 names are under consideration from both sides.
He said that all the names are respectable and good. A consensus will be reached by 12 pm tonight.
The chief minister added that the name for the interim chief minister would not be suggested by any third party and one of the names under consideration would be finalised.
He further said that the caretaker chief minister will assume his duties in a couple of days.
It should be noted that the ruling party People’s Party had discussed the names of Justice (R) Maqbool Baqir and former Sindh Chief Secretary Mumtaz Ali Shah for the desired post, while the opposition had also discussed a few names for the post. I am Dr. Safdar Abbasi, Ghulam Murtaza Khan Jatoi, Shoaib Siddiqui and Younis Dhaga.
How is the interim chief minister appointed?
After the provincial assembly is dissolved, the government needs a caretaker setup, regardless of whether the governor approves the summary signed by the chief minister or not.
Even if the governor does not approve it, the assembly dissolves within 48 hours of signing the summary as per the constitution.
For the establishment of a caretaker government, the Chief Minister of Sindh will write a letter to the leader of the opposition within 48 hours of the dissolution of the Assembly, asking for three names for the caretaker chief minister and will suggest three names himself.
If the deadlock between the two leaders continues for three days, the Speaker will form a committee consisting of six outgoing members of the Sindh Assembly with equal representation from the treasury and the opposition.
The chief minister and the leader of the opposition will send two nominees to the committee, which will have three days to reach a consensus on a name.
If that also fails, the names of the nominated candidates will be forwarded within two days from the Provincial Election Commissioner to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) for a final decision.
The selected candidate will perform his duties as the interim chief minister till the formation of the new government in the province. He also has the power to include the caretaker chief executive in his cabinet.
The ECP is bound to hold general elections in the province within 90 days after the appointment of caretaker chief minister.
The election body can conduct the polling in 22 to 45 days while candidates will be given 29 to 30 days to campaign.
Unlike the practice in other countries, Pakistan’s constitution stipulates that the caretaker government must be sworn in until a new government is elected by the people.
Article 224 of the Constitution defines the process of appointment of caretaker government at the Center and the provinces.
Murad will continue his duties as Chief Minister for a few days till the formation of caretaker government.
Among all the elected representatives, it is only the current Sindh Assembly Speaker, Agha Siraj Durrani, who will remain in office until the newly elected legislators are sworn in and elect their replacements.
