Imran Khan Proposes Former CJP Gulzar Ahmed as Caretaker PM: Report

This comes after PTI Chairman Imran Khan was de-notified as the prime minister of Pakistan on Sunday.

Chief Justice of Pakistan (Retired) Gulzar Ahmed

(Photo: Twitter)

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Monday, 4 April, proposed former Chief Justice of Pakistan (Retired) Gulzar Ahmed as the caretaker Prime Minister of the country, DAWN reported.

This comes after Imran Khan, the chairman of the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), was de-notified as the prime minister of Pakistan on Sunday, 3 April, in the wake of the dissolution of the National Assembly by the President, Geo News reported.

He will not be empowered to make decisions that an elected head of the government can make, it added.

The announcement regarding the nomination of Ahmed was made by Fawad Hussain, a former minister in Khan's cabinet.

"In response to the President's letter, after consultation and approval from the PTI Core Committee, Prime Minister Imran Khan has nominated former Chief Justice of Pakistan, Justice Gulzar Ahmed, for the post of caretaker Prime Minister," Hussain tweeted in Urdu.

Letter to PM and LoP

The proposal of Ahmed's name as caretaker PM comes after a letter was written by President Arif Alvi to the prime minister as well as the Leader of the Opposition, Shehbaz Sharif, to propose names for the post of caretaker PM.

The letter stated that Khan would continue to be the PM of the country until a caretaker prime minister was appointed, DAWN reported.

Alvi also added that in case no joint decision is taken within three days of the National Assembly's dissolution, Khan and Sharif will be required to recommend two nominees each to a committee, which will be formed by the Speaker.

The committee would include eight outgoing members of the National Assembly or the Senate or both, and would have equal representation from the treasury as well as the Opposition, DAWN quoted excerpts of the letter as saying.

However, Sharif, who is the chief of the Opposition Pakistan Muslim League (N), said that he would not participate in the process, and slammed it as being "illegal".

Former CJP Ahmed, Khan's proposed nominee for caretaker PM, was sworn-in as the 27th chief justice of Pakistan in December 2019, and held the post till February 2022.

(With inputs from DAWN and Geo News.)