PPP leader Sherry Rehman rejected reports on Monday that a name for the caretaker prime minister had been finalised, terming them \u201cfake news\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo name [for the caretaker PM] has been shared with us \u2026 and neither has PPP made any decision regarding this,\u201d she said in a press conference alongside PPP Information Secretary and Special Assistant to the Prime Minister Faisal Karim Kundi in Islamabad.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo such agreement has been reached, no name has been finalised at least from our side,\u201d she asserted. \u201cWe haven\u2019t even floated any names.\u201d<\/p>\n
But some media reports suggested yesterday that a name had been finalised, she said, adding that this was not the case.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe PPP\u2019s party position is the same as before \u2014 which is our democratic position entrenched in the Constitution \u2014 that is better that the caretaker government is non-partisan,\u201d Rehman said.<\/p>\n
Rehman\u2019s clarification follows reports of the PML-N leadership intending to see party stalwart Ishaq Dar as the interim prime minister.<\/p>\n
As for the PPP, while some reports said the party had expressed strong reservations on the selection, saying a \u201cman from the Sharif family\u201d was not suitable to lead the \u2018neutral\u2019 setup, others stated it had \u201cnot ruled out\u201d accepting Dar for the position.<\/p>\n
Speaking on the matter, Rehman explained that deciding on the caretaker PM\u2019s name was a consultative process and involved discussions among multiple parties, as well as the opposition leader.<\/p>\n
Reiterating that unbiasedness was one of the requirements of an election, she said, \u201cWe are inclined towards it\u201d.<\/p>\n
Rehman said her party had formed a three-member committee for consultation on the caretaker setup. \u201cThey will inform the party leadership of the [proposed] names, but no decision has been taken regarding this yet \u2026 It should be clear now that we have not settled on a name.\u201d<\/p>\n
She also clarified that her party had not been consulted on appointing the caretaker PM from the federal cabinet.<\/p>\n
The PPP leader further said her party\u2019s leadership had maintained that elections should be held on time, within the constitutional term, be it 60 days or 90 days. \u201cWe believe it will be better for the country and its stability,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
What the PPP wanted, she said, was that the Election Commission of Pakistan\u2019s rules and regulations were considered in elections and there was a level playing field.<\/p>\n
While Rehman did not name Dar in rejecting reports of a consensus on the caretaker PM\u2019s selection, Kundi categorically stated that the finance minister had not been proposed to the PPP till now.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut if it is shared with the PPP, there will definitely be a debate on it,\u201d he said. \u201cWe, too, will propose some names and so will other parties. There will be discussion on them and the shortlisted names will be discussed with the leader of the opposition [in the National Assembly].\u201d<\/p>\n
Moreover, he said, the PPP had reservations about the 2023 census but \u201celections should not fall victim to census and get delayed\u201d.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
PPP leader Sherry Rehman rejected reports on Monday that a name for the caretaker prime minister had been finalised, terming them \u201cfake news\u201d. \u201cNo name [for the caretaker PM] has been shared with us \u2026 and neither has PPP made any decision regarding this,\u201d she said in a press conference alongside PPP Information Secretary and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":345081,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-345071","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-top-news"},"yoast_head":"\n