ISLAMABAD : July 19, 2023: interior minister, Rana Sanaullah, on Wednesday said the consultation process for appointing a caretaker prime minister has begun and a final decision to this effect may take a few more days.
Speaking to the journalists here following a meeting on counter terrorism , Rana Sanaullah said different names for the appointment of a caretaker prime minister were under discussion including former Finance minister Hafeez Shaikh. He ruled out any possibility of delay in upcoming general elections and said its responsibility of the Election Commission of Pakistan to hold in time elections in the country.
“There is no obvious reason to any delay in holding general elections in the country”, Rana Sanaullah said.
Abdul Hafeez Shaikh was a Finance minister in Shaukat Aziz’s tenure . He also got the same assignment in Imran Khan’s rule. He is considered close to Pindiwalas . The performance of Abdul Hafeez Shaikh as a Finance minister has been a big question mark. As a Finance minister , he also worked on anti farmers policies. He was the man who delayed support price for wheat in Imran Khan’s tenure , putting Pakistan’s food security at risk as his policy of wait and see for announcing support price for wheat had made the crop less attractive for the farming community. Pakistan’s wheat production remained at the lowest level purely due to his anti farmers approach in Imran Khan’s rule. Despite his complete failure for two terms as a Finance minister , Hafeez Shaikh is still a darling for Pindiwalas for any misadventures . Next caretaker government may add his name for a new misadventure.
Responding to a query regarding disqualification of Pakistan Tehreek e Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan, Rana Sanaullah said he does not foresee any possibility of action against PTI chairman before or after the general elections. He also addressed a question asked by a reporter about the whereabouts of Imran Khan, a missing journalist and expressed complete ignorance about the whereabout the missing journalist. The Interior minister argued that the family of Imran Khan has not approached to the government for help in missing case of Imran Riaz and if it does so the government will extend full support and help to the missing journalist’s family.
