Pakistan’s Finance Minister Ishaq Dar proposed as caretaker PM

Tariq Butt, Correspondent / Reuters

One of the main parties in Pakistan’s ruling coalition has proposed that Finance Minister Ishaq Dar lead an incoming caretaker government, party sources said, to help push on with economic reforms agreed under an IMF deal.

Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif has announced the coalition will dissolve parliament next month and hand over the reins to the caretaker administration to pave the way for national elections.

The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) has put forward Dar’s name to its coalition partners, according to the sources who were not authorised to speak to media and declined to be identified. “We think he could be the best bet to continue with the economic reforms agreed with the IMF,” a PML-N member told Reuters.

Pakistan secured a badly-needed $3 billion short-term financial package from the International Monetary Fund last month, a much-awaited respite as it teeters on the brink of default.

The ruling coalition replaced former prime minister Imran Khan’s administration after he lost a parliamentary vote of confidence in April 2022, having lost favour with the powerful military. The military denies having a role in his removal.

Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf (PTI) said the caretaker government could not be impartial if it was led by Dar. “If Ishaq Dar is to be made a caretaker prime minister, then there will be no elections but only a selection,” PTI spokesman Farrukh Habib said.

The PML-N’s main coalition partner, the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), said it had not yet agreed on any name to head the caretaker government. Its leader, Sherry Rehman, told journalists a panel from her party would propose a candidate.

When asked about the proposal by Reuters, Dar said only: “Let’s wait.” Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb did not respond to a request for comment.

Earlier, Ishaq Dar has confirmed that the Elections Act 2017 is set to be amended in order to empower the upcoming caretaker government to take important decisions rather than just run day-to-day operations until a democratically elected setup takes over.

During a TV interview, Dar was questioned whether the Section 230 of the Elections Act - which relates to the functions of a caretaker government - was about to be amended. “To the best of my understanding, yes,” he replied. “I don’t think this is something to hide from the nation. They will find out and it should indeed be amended,” Dar said, adding that the nation’s time should not be wasted by having the caretaker government be bogged down solely in “day-to-day” tasks.

He said it would be “inappropriate” for the caretaker prime minister to be concerned only with routine tasks.

Questioned if the caretaker prime minister would have more power to take important decisions after the amendment, Dar said: “He should be [in that position to take major actions].”

Asked if he was in the running for the position of the caretaker prime minister, Dar said it would be “premature” to comment on it, adding that he did not believe in pursuing or desiring any office.

He said whoever was chosen as the caretaker prime minister would continue to have his support as a senator and leader of the house in the Senate.

Meanwhile, Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal, when questioned about Dar’s name as the interim prime minister, said Dar, or anyone, could hold that office provided the government and opposition agreed.

He said it would be premature to comment further on the matter, stressing again that consensus of the coalition parties in the government and the opposition was required on the candidate.

However, Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Secretary General Farhatullah Babar said “highly disturbing reports about caretaker selection are doing rounds on social media. “If true, it may result in postponing elections and pave the way for long-term technocrat set-up.” He added that “mere expressions of pious hopes” were not enough for the situation.

Both major coalition partners have agreed that a politician should be appointed as the head of the interim set-up, with PPP’s Qamar Zaman Kaira saying that no politician can be appointed as a judge and vice versa.