Soomro takes oath as interim PM today
* Musharraf consults Soomro on possible cabinet members
ISLAMABAD: Senate Chairman Muhammadmian Soomro will take oath as caretaker prime minister (PM) today (Friday).
President General Pervez Musharraf will administer the oath under the interim Constitutional order, which will be followed by oaths from the interim cabinet, which stands at around 12 to 15 people.
Soomro, 57, a member of MusharrafÂ’s ruling Pakistan Muslim League, will be responsible for guiding an interim administration to prepare for elections promised by Musharraf by January 9.
Cabinet consultations: Sources said that President Musharraf met with Soomro and consulted him regarding possible candidates for cabinet positions.
Earlier, the possible candidatures of former State Bank governor Dr Ishrat Hussain, former privatisation minister Hafeez Sheikh, Pakistan’s ambassador to the UAE Ahsanullah Khan and his brother Irshadullah Khan, Moeen Afzal and Iftikhar Hussain Shah, were being speculated for the post of caretaker PM, but after careful and intensive consultations, the Senate chairman was deemed the most suitable, reported Online.
Sources said the cabinet would include renowned names such as Senator Nisar Memon as minister of information and broadcasting, Lt Gen (r) Hamid Nawaz as interior minister, Dr Ishrat Hussain as finance minister, Inamul Haq as foreign minister, Syed Afzal Haider as minister for law, Abbas Sarfaraz as minister for Kashmir Affairs and Northern Areas, Saleem Abbas Jilani as minister for defence, former WAPDA chairman Tariq Hameed as minister for water and power and Salman Taseer as minister for information and technology. Besides these, names of Raja Tridev Roy, former secretary Ejaz Rahim, Hameed Darecho and Pir of Taunsa Sharif could also form part of the caretaker cabinet. They would be allocated ministries later.
The name of Justice (r) Ijaz Nisar, a retired chief justice of the Lahore High Court, have also figured in the discussions for a top slot in the Punjab.
Source: Daily Times
Date:11/16/2007
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