No names finalised for caretaker premier: Outgoing Pak PM Shehbaz Sharif

Outgoing Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday denied the finalisation of any candidates for the post, with just a day left in the dissolution of the National Assembly, the Dawn reported.

"No. None till now … no name has been shortlisted," he said during an interview on Dawn News show when asked about the nominees.

The premier added that consultations with the government's allies and his own party members on the matter were a "continuous process" that would be completed within a day or two.

On whether a PML-N member was being appointed as the interim premier, he said parties in the ruling coalition should make a decision to ensure that the status of the interim Prime Minister was "generally acceptable" to the people, Dawn reported.

Asked pointedly on whether former Finance minister Hafeez Sheikh was in tge running for the top post, the outgoing PM reiterated that no name had been finalised.

While the PM denied the finalisation of any names, Dawn, citing sources, reported that the ruling coalition seems to have evolved a consensus on a name for the caretaker Prime Min­ister's slot but was keeping the identity of the chosen one under wraps, ostensibly to save the nominee from controversy.

The outgoing premier and the Opposition leaders can hold further consultations on the matter for three days, even after the dissolution of the Assembly. In case a consensus is not reached, then the matter would be referred to the Election Commission of Pakistan, Dawn reported.

Among the several possible names for the caretaker PM circulating in the media are Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, former PM and estranged PML-N leader Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, ex-principal secretary to PM, Fawad Hassan Fawad, former Chief Justice of Pakistan, Tassaduq Hussain Jilani, ex-permanent representative to the UN, Abdullah Hussain Haroon, Pir of Pagaro Sibghatullah Shah Rashdi and former Punjab governor and PPP's Makhdoom Ahmed Mehmood, among others.