Caretaker govt should be headed by 'an economist', says PTI's Naeemul Haque

MANCHESTER: The leader of the caretaker government that will come into effect ahead of Pakistan's upcoming general elections should be an economist, a Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader said here on Friday.

During an address here in the UK, Naeemul Haque, a member of the Imran Khan-led PTI, noted that elections should be held no later by July 31 according to the law.

He explained that should the Supreme Court of Pakistan deem preparations for the upcoming general elections incomplete, only then can they be postponed.

With regard to the recent ouster of 20 party members, Haque said it did not impact the PTI.

In an interview with BBC Urdu on Monday, Haque had said his party had finalised the names of former chief justice Tassaduq Hussain Jillani and economist Ishrat Hussain as candidates for the country's caretaker prime minister.

For the caretaker chief minister for Punjab, however, he had said the PTI had suggested names of industrialist Abdul Razak Dawood and former State Bank of Pakistan governor Shahid Kardar as candidates.

The current government is expected to conclude its five-year term on May 31, after which the caretaker government will take over to hold the general elections — expected to be scheduled in the last week of July.