Pakistan: FM Dar, as interim PM, may keep the seat hot for his mentor-relative—Nawaz

Virendra Pandit 

New Delhi: In outdated feudal societies of South Asia, including parts of India and Pakistan, The Family remains the fulcrum of happenings at all levels–even in diverse areas like politics, films, business, and other professions. No wonder that Pakistan’s Finance Minister Ishaq Dar is being viewed as the next caretaker Prime Minister to keep the seat warm for his mentor-cum-successor, three-time PM Mohammad Nawaz Sharif, who also happens to be his close relative.

Even now, Pakistan’s political power, whatever of it remains, resides mostly in the Sharif family. Nawaz’s younger brother, Shehbaz, is the PM; his daughter Marium Nawaz is the most powerful minister in the coalition government. And Nawaz’s other daughter’s father-in-law is Pakistan’s current FM, Ishaq Dar.

According to the media reports, Nawaz wants Dar to succeed Shehbaz and become the interim PM. But the ruling’s alliance key partner, Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) led by former President Asif Ali Zardari and his son Bilawal Bhutto, is not happy with someone so close to the Sharifs becoming the interim PM as well. A caretaker PM should be neutral so that all stakeholders are on board, it says.

The question of a successor to the current PM, Shehbaz Sharif, surfaced after he said recently that he will hand over power next month, when the term of the current government ends on August 14. The government may dissolve the Lower House on August 8, as elections are due later this year.

In June, the National Assembly passed legislation to limit the lifetime disqualification of lawmakers to just five years, paving the way for Nawaz Sharif to return from self-exile in London to resume active politics ahead of the general elections and become eligible for what could be his fourth stint as the PM.

Sharif, 73, was disqualified for life in 2017 by the Supreme Court and later convicted in corruption cases by the accountability courts during the tenure of his successor, Imran Ahmed Khan Niazi, as his successor.

Nawaz will shortly travel to Dubai to meet leaders of his party, Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz), and other leaders of the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM), a coalition of 11 parties, including the PPP and PMLN, against Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf’s (PTI) Imran Khan. The PPP believes this delay in consensus is harmful to the PDM and the “establishment” (the Pakistan Army) will take charge and appoint their own person.

Dar’s name surfaced as the Shehbaz-led government mulled changes in the Elections Act 2017 to empower the upcoming caretaker set-up to take decisions beyond its constitutional mandate, with a view to ensuring continuity of the recently rolled-out economic plan and expedite the process aimed at receiving foreign investment in state-owned entities, the media reported.

The PML-N was considering the name of Dar, 73, for the caretaker PM as part of a broader plan to ensure the implementation of the economic policies.

Under the Constitution, if the National Assembly completes its term, polls are to be held within 60 days. But if the assembly is dissolved prematurely, even if by a day, it would give the government 90 days to conduct elections. That is why the Shehbaz government is mulling the dissolution of the House a week before its term ends.

According to reports, the government was considering amending Section 230 of the Elections Act 2017, empowering the caretaker set-up to take economic decisions and the amendments might be introduced in the National Assembly next week to allow the caretaker government to take decisions necessary to revive the economy.

Pakistan’s tottering economy is passing through one of its worst phases where matters cannot be left for three months on just day-to-day decision-making.

If Dar is made the interim PM, he might not return to the next government as finance minister in case his PML (N) and its allies return to power.

The name of Hafeez Shaikh, former finance minister, has also been making the rounds for the position of caretaker prime minister.