Interior minister says if consensus is developed on a politician, then it can either be Dar or any other politician from any party
n Govt has no mandate to allow Nawaz return to country for active politics as ex-PM was disqualified by court.

ISLAMABAD   -  Interior Minister Rana Sanaul­lah Khan on Friday said that no one within the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) ever proposed the name of Fi­nance Minister Ishaq Dar as the next caretaker prime minister and consequently there was no question of rejection of his nom­ination by any other party in the ruling coalition.

“This is wrong to say that the name of Dar was proposed for the position of caretaker PM and was rejected (by the allied par­ties in the ruling coalition),” said Rana Sanaullah, who is presi­dent of the ruling PML-N’s Pun­jab chapter.

Earlier this week, some me­dia reports said that PML-N was considering proposing the name of Dar for the caretaker PM to ensure implementation of the ongoing economic policies. Pa­kistan People’s Party (PPP), the ruling allied party in the coali­tion, had instantly rejected the proposal. Talking to a private TV channel, the interior minis­ter said that this could be mere a rumour that Dar was the can­didate of PML-N for the coveted position at the moment.

He said that currently, talks were underway about whether a bureaucrat or a politician should be appointed as caretaker chief executive of the country.

“If a consensus is developed on a politician, then it can either be Ishaq Dar or any other politician from any party,” he said.

The minister added the gov­ernment was trying that such a person should be nominated for the position that was acceptable to all sides.

Talking about the possible re­turn of PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif to the country, Rana Sanaullah said that it was wrong to assume that the incumbent government has the authority to allow Nawaz to come back and actively participate in politics.

“This is completely wrong,” he said and reminded that the apex court had disqualified Nawaz through a verdict, which was “not accepted by any one.” At the same time, he blamed the judges for being biased against the for­mer prime minister.

The minister said that Nawaz would soon return and first get a protective bail from a court. He added that the former prime minister would secure acquittal from courts in the cases against him once he re­turned to the country. It is to be mentioned here that Pakistan People’s Party a couple of days back had reacted to the rumours about Finance Minister Ishaq Dar being nominat­ed for the post of care­taker prime minister by the PML-N. Addressing a news conference, Min­ister for Climate Change and PPP leader Senator Sherry Rehman had also refuted any consultations or agreement for the care­taker prime minister’s position, terming all such news “fake”. She asserted that no decision has been made yet regarding the position. “There is a con­stitutional procedure in place for the appointment of interim PM. Stability in the country can only be achieved through timely elections and a non-parti­san interim government,” she added. Sherry Reh­man said that her party had formed a three-mem­ber committee for con­sultation on the caretaker setup. “They will inform the party leadership of the proposed names, but no decision has been tak­en regarding this yet … It should be clear now that we have not settled on a name.