Soomro led caretaker setup to take reigns
Staff Report

ISLAMABAD—A new caretaker Prime Minister and cabinet members will take oath of office Friday as Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz and his cabinet will stand dissolved by Nov 15 midnight, at the completion of term of the National Assembly. President General Pervez Musharraf will administer the oath to the new Prime Minister and his cabinet here at the Aiwan-e-Sadr Friday morning.
Under the constitution the new caretaker set up will supervise the general election that is likely to be held in the first week of January and will hand over the charge to the new Prime Minister and the Cabinet. Under the Constitution the Election Commission of Pakistan is required to hold the general election within 45 to 60 days after the National Assembly completes its tenure. The Election Commission will announce the exact date of holding the general election.
he Senate Chairman, MianMuhammad Soomro has been finalized to be the caretaker PM, and would be taking his oath on Friday, today. President General Pervez Musharraf would administer the oath, which would be administered under the interim Constitutional order, and would be followed, by oath from the interim cabinet, which stands at 12-15.
Reliable sources have informed that President Musharraf met with the Chairman Senate and also consulted him about possible cabinet members. Earlier, the possible candidature of Dr. Ishrat Hussain, Hafeez Sheikh, Moeen Afzal, Iftikhar Hussain Shah, Ahsan Ullah Khan, Irshad ullah Khan, were also being speculated, but after careful and intensive consultations and consensus, luck smiled upon Chairman Senate, and he would be taking his oath as the caretaker PM.
Meanwhile the cabinet would be including such renowned names like senator Nisar Memon as minister of information broadcasting, Lt. Gen (Retd) Hamid Nawaz as interior minister, Syed Afzal Haider as minister for Law, Abbas Sarfaraz as minister for Kashmir Affairs and Northern Areas, former chairman WAPDA, Tariq Hameed, as minister for Water and Power, Salman Taseer as minister for Finance/Trade. Besides these luminaries, names of Raja Tridev Roy, former secretary Ejaz Rahim, Hameed Darecho, and Pir of Taunsa Sharif among others would also form a part of caretaker cabinet, while they would be allocated ministries afterwards.
Renowned legal advisor, Syed Sharif-ud-Din Pirzada will continue to perform as Senior constitutional advisor of President General Pervez Musharraf amid interim government. Official sources said Sharif-ud-Din Pirzada has also served as senior constitutional advisor of Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz.
Pakistan’s Pervez Musharraf conferred with key aides to hand-pick a caretaker government that will steer the emergency-ruled nation toward elections. His presidency officially comes to an end at midnight, the same time as parliament dissolves, amidst a mounting political crisis triggered by his declaration of emergency rule. The military ruler has pledged general elections by January 9 but said the state of emergency will stay in place until then.
The government said Musharraf, as the incumbent, would remain in office as both army chief and president until the Supreme Court rules on the legality of his victory in an October 6 presidential election. Opposition leaders including detained former premier Benazir Bhutto have called on Musharraf to quit, while international pressure is growing for him to give up his role as army chief and end the emergency.
“In the constitution the incumbent will continue until the next president takes oath. That is only a common-sense approach, that you cannot have the office lying vacant,” Deputy Information Minister Tariq Azeem told. Musharraf’s lawyers told the Supreme Court in September that his five-year term in office would end on November 15. He also promised to shed his uniform before his second term. Critics say jitters over the likely court ruling led to Musharraf imposing the state of emergency on November 3, following which he gutted the court and replaced its top judges.