Hafeez Shaikh among candidates shortlisted for caretaker prime minister, says Sanaullah

Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah said on Sunday that former finance minister Hafeez Shaikh was among the candidates shortlisted for the slot of the caretaker prime minister.

The minister revealed this on Geo News show ‘Naya Pakistan’, saying that a consensus had been developed in recent days that a person considered “neutral” should be appointed to the post.

Asked whether Shaikh was willing to take up the responsibility, Sanaullah said, “He surely would be.”

Shaikh’s name was among those earlier reported to have been included in a list of five finalised by parties in the ruling coalition for the caretaker prime minister. The purported list was also said to have included former chief justice of Pakistan Tassaduq Hussain Jillani.

In an apparent reference to him, when Sanaullah was asked on the Geo News programme today whether a retired judge of the apex court was also among the shortlisted candidates, his reply was vague.

“Yes, there are people from all segments,” he said.