Embattled Prime Minister Imran Khan on Monday nominated former Chief Justice of Pakistan Gulzar Ahmed as the caretaker prime minister, after consulting with the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s core committee, Dawn reported.
Party leader Fawad Chaudhry made the announcement after the decision was approved by its members.
“In response to the President’s letter, after consultation and approval from the PTI Corps Committee, Prime Minister Imran Khan has nominated former Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Gulzar Ahmed for the post of caretaker Prime Minister,” Chaudhry wrote on Twitter.
According to Dawn, Ahmed was sworn in as the 27th chief justice of the nation on December 21, 2019.
Earlier in the day, President Arif Alvi had issued a notification under the Article 94 of Pakistan’s Constitution, stating that Khan will continue as the country’s prime minister till a caretaker premier was appointed.
The president had also sent a letter to Khan and Shehbaz Sharif, leader of the Opposition in Pakistan, asking to propose names of suitable persons to assume office of the prime minister, Dawn reported.
Deeming it illegal, Sharif said he would not take part in the process.
The president’s letter came a day after the National Assembly Deputy Speaker Qasim Suri rejected the no-confidence vote against Khan on Sunday.
Suri had said that the motion breached Article 5 of Pakistan’s Constitution, which deals with loyalty to the state and obedience to the Constitution. A few minutes later, Alvi dissolved the Parliament.
The country’s Opposition parties had moved the no-confidence motion against Khan on March 8. Voting on this was scheduled to take place on Sunday.
Taking a suo motu cognisance of the matter, Chief Justice of Pakistan Umar Ata Bandial on Monday said that a “reasonable order” will be issued to assess the legality of the dismissal of the no-confidence motion against Khan.
Political turmoil in Pakistan
The Opposition has alleged that Khan had failed to control inflation and was responsible for the economic crisis in Pakistan.
Currently, Khan’s government is left with 164 members of the National Assembly, while the joint Opposition has 177. The majority mark in the Pakistani National Assembly is 172.
On April 3, Khan had claimed that a “foreign nation” was involved in the attempt to oust his government. He had said that he will not resign from his post as prime minister and would face the motion in the National Assembly.
Before the no-trust move, Khan had already lost the majority in the 342-member Lower House after his government’s two allies joined hands with the Opposition.
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