President Dr. Arif Alvi, on Sunday, dissolved the National Assembly and the Cabinet under Article 58(1) of the Constitution of Pakistan and ordered fresh elections in the country, on the advice of Prime Minister Imran Khan.
Following the development, the Cabinet Division de-notified the prime minister.
“Consequent upon dissolution of the National Assembly by the president of Pakistan, in terms of Article 58(1) read with Article 48(1) of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, vide Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs’ SRO No. 487(1)/2022, dated 3rd April, 2022, Mr. Imran Ahmad Khan Niazi ceased to hold the Office of the Prime Minister of Pakistan, with immediate effect,” stated the notification from the Cabinet Division.
Hours later, the President House stated that Imran Khan will continue as the Prime Minister till the appointment of a caretaker prime minister under Article 224 A (4) of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan.
Mr. Imran Ahmad Khan Niazi, shall continue as Prime Minister till the appointment of caretaker Prime Minister under Article 224 A (4) of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan.
— The President of Pakistan (@PresOfPakistan) April 3, 2022
However, there is a lot of confusion surrounding this notion. To dispel the confusion, here is how a caretaker prime minister is appointed:
According to the constitutional provisions, the President, after the dissolution of the assembly, is bound to appoint a caretaker setup within 14 days.
In this regard, the President has asked the Leader of the House [PM Imran] and the Leader of the Opposition, Shahbaz Sharif, of the outgoing assembly to suggest two names for the post.
3 اپریل کو قومی اسمبلی کے تحلیل کیے جانے کے پیش نظر صدر مملکت ڈاکٹر عارف علوی کا وزیر اعظم عمران خان اور قائد حزب اختلاف میاں محمد شہباز شریف کو نگراں وزیر اعظم کے لیے موزوں شخص کی تجویز کے لیے خط pic.twitter.com/XXSHNcRrC4
— The President of Pakistan (@PresOfPakistan) April 4, 2022
If the premier and the opposition leader fail to reach a consensus on the appointment of the caretaker Prime Minister within three days, a special committee of the parliamentarians will decide the matter under Article 224 A (4) of the Constitution.
In this case, the Prime Minister and the opposition leader will forward two names each for a special committee to be constituted by the Speaker of the National Assembly. The committee, comprising eight members with equal representation from the treasury and the opposition benches, will finalize the name of the caretaker Prime Minister. The members of the committee will be nominated by the Prime Minister and the opposition leader.
