Interim Government of Pakistan: Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif promised his country on Thursday that the government would transfer power to an interim authority in August to steer it through general elections. In a televised address to the nation, Sharif said his administration had removed “landmines” that former Prime Minister Imran Khan had planted to hinder Pakistan’s interests.
He said, “We will hand over this responsibility to the caretaker government in August 2023.” will end in August. Sharif, who heads the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party, who was sworn in last April, also said he had been given the “sacred responsibility” of running the country as prime minister.
How is the caretaker government appointed in Pakistan?
The caretaker government in Pakistan is appointed after the approval of the outgoing prime minister and the leader of the opposition. If they fail to agree on a name, the prime minister and opposition leader will send their names to a bipartisan committee to consider a name within a specified time period.
If the committee also fails, the Election Commission of Pakistan receives the same names and selects one of them to serve as the Prime Minister. The caretaker prime minister appoints a cabinet to manage the activities of the government, and leaves office as soon as the newly elected prime minister takes the oath of office.
According to reports, it is not yet clear who will be the caretaker leader, although political parties are in talks to choose one by consensus. In his speech, Sharif said that his administration had attempted to clear away the “wreck of destruction” left by his predecessor Khan in just 15 months.
Sharif criticized the previous government led by Imran Khan
He said that the government has been successful in extinguishing the fire of mismanagement, inefficiency and conspiracy of the previous government. He took credit for facing some tough challenges and dealing with problems and setting the course for the economy and the country. It should be mentioned here that Imran Khan, chairman of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, was thrown out of power in April 2022 after the National Assembly passed a no-confidence motion against him.
(With inputs from PTI)