Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday expressed the hope that the decision on the name of caretaker prime minister would be finalised by Saturday. The prime minister, in a farewell interaction with reporters in Islamabad, said that he would meet the heads of coalition parties on Friday night to discuss the matter before his meeting with Leader of the Opposition Raja Riaz on Friday or Saturday. He explained that, in case of their inability to evolve consensus on a single name, the matter would be referred to the parliamentary committee with a mandate to dispose of it within three days. In case of no agreement at the committee level, the matter would be taken up by the Election Commission of Pakistan, which would have to take the final decision within two days. Responding to a question about the letter written by President Arif Alvi to him and the opposition leader to finalise the name by August 12, the prime minister said the procedure was very clear in the Constitution. He said that the 16 months of his stint as the premier was the most difficult time of his 38-year-long political career. However, teamwork and efforts from all stakeholders helped the government achieve success on different fronts. Also read President asks Shehbaz, opposition leader to name caretaker PM by Aug 12 He said the government machinery worked round the clock during the floods and Rs100 billion was disbursed by the previous government, besides the funds distributed by the provinces and the relevant departments. He said that the agreement with the IMF was a great challenge that was surmounted by the team’s efforts; otherwise, the country could have faced a chaotic situation. Recounting his government’s success at the diplomatic front, the prime minister said they had improved the ties with friendly countries which were strained during the previous government through baseless allegations. He said that inflation had touched 12.5% during the previous government, which was just 3.5% during Nawaz Sharif’s tenure. He said the government had to spend $2 billion to import wheat following reduced production. Without naming the news story about the cipher, the prime minister said, “What happened yesterday has exposed everything.” He said the oil prices were not in the government’s control and that they were compelled to pass on the impact to the consumers. He told the newsmen that the government had put in place a mechanism in the form of the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC) which was a vision for the country's progress and prosperity. (With input from APP)
from Pakistan News, Latest News Pakistan, Pakistan Headline | The Express Tribune https://ift.tt/aIPLQdt
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