It was assumed that the constitutionally required consultation between the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly would be a formality, mainly because while Raja Riaz filled the office, he was seen as a sort of dummy, being the leader of those PTI dissidents who had rebelled against Imran Khan at the time of the no-confidence vote against him last year. However, the consultations lasted longer than expected, and as a result, the next step, of the parliamentary committee, started looming. However, that was avoided by the agreement of Senator Anwarul Haq Kakar, who belongs to the Balochistan Awami Party.
Obviously, the decision is not supposed to be a casual one. However, the concentration of the two men seems to indicate that they are taking a more important decision than it seems to be. Both are men of wide political experience going back to the 20th century, and cannot help but be aware that there is talk swirling around that the caretaker government might overstay its constitutionally dictated time-limit.. Are the two men selecting someone who will head a government for more than three months? Even within the constitutionally stipulated time-limit of 90 days, the caretaker PM and caretaker Finance Minister must be capable of keeping the IMF and other multilateral institutions happy. It must also ensure a furtherance of the work of the Special Investment Facilitation Council, which the PDM government barely initiated. In that respect, The Leader of the Opposition being on board, helps.
However, one consequence of this is that the political instability which has prevailed ever since Mr Khan’s refusal to allow the transfer of the DG ISI back in the autumn of 2021 ignited the fires that brought him down, can come to an end. Having made all his farewells, Mian Shahbaz Sharif can now vacate the Prime Minister’s Office. While he only continues in office until a successor is sworn in, the country is in a state of limbo. Though routine decisions need to be made, they are not, being kicked down the road to the caretakers or elected government.
Hopefully, Mr Kakar, belonging to s minority in the country’s smallest province, and belonging to none of the mainstream parties, will be able to conduct universally acceptecd election on time, and go home with honour.
