MM News

ISLAMABAD: President Arif Alvi on Monday penned down a letter to Prime Minister Imran Khan and Leader of Opposition in the outgoing National Assembly to “propose a suitable person for appointment” as a caretaker premier under Article 224 A (1) of the Constitution of Pakistan.

A day earlier, President Alvi dissolved the National Assembly on the advice of Prime Minister Imran Khan, hours after the National Assembly Deputy Speaker Qasim Suri declared the opposition’s no-confidence motion “unconstitutional” and prorogued the house without voting on it.

In the letter, President Alvi today stated that the National Assembly and the federal cabinet had been dissolved under Article 58(1) of the Constitution on Sunday

The president said that PM Imran would continue to hold office until the caretaker premier’s appointment is made under Article 224-A(4) of the Constitution.

“Caretaker prime minister shall be appointed by the president in consultation with the prime minister and the leader of the opposition in the outgoing NA as per Article 224-A(1) of the Constitution of Pakistan,” the letter said.

Alvi told the two that in case they do not agree on the appointment within three days of the dissolution of the NA, they shall forward two nominees each to a committee to be constituted by the speaker, comprising eight members of the outgoing NA, or the Senate, or both, having equal representation from the treasury and the opposition.

The members of that committee from the treasury and opposition benches are to be nominated by the prime minister and the leader of the opposition, respectively, in pursuance of Article 224-A(1) of the Constitution of Pakistan.

“It is worth stating that the Constitution has empowered the president, under Article 224-A (1), to appoint caretaker prime minister in consultation with the prime minister and the leader of the opposition in the outgoing NA,” a handout issued by the President’s Secretariat said.