ISLAMABAD - Federal Minister for Law and Justice Farooq H Naek on Monday said they had forwarded to the president the Law Ministry’s objections to the changes proposed in the nomination papers by Election Commission of Pakistan and now it was his prerogative to grant its approval.
Talking to media people at the Parliament, the federal law minister said it was prerogative of the president to give the election date while Election Commission of Pakistan was competent to announce the election schedule.
Farooq H Naek said their objections to the new nomination papers were not a final word as the president could overrule them. He, however, made it clear that under Article 107, the president's approval was mandatory for any amendment to the format of nomination papers.
To a question, Naek said that with the dissolution of the National Assembly on March 16, the federal cabinet would automatically stand dismissed, but the prime minister would remain in office till the finalisation of the caretaker prime minister.
He pointed out that in case the prime minister and the leader of opposition failed to evolve consensus on any name before the dissolution of the National Assembly, the matter would go to the eight-member parliamentary committee to choose two each from the lists of the candidates proposed by the leader of opposition and the prime minister. In case the matter remained unresolved in the committee, it would automatically go to the Election Commission of Pakistan which would decide the matter within two days as defined in Article 224-A.
To another question, he said his party wanted scrutiny of nomination papers in the light of articles 62 and 63 of the Constitution.
 To another question, he said he wanted to see the governor's rule lifted in Balochistan at the earliest.