By Muhammad Najeeb, IANS
Islamabad : Pakistan President General Pervez Musharraf has picked Irshad Ullah Khan, a businessman owning several gemstone mines, to head a caretaker government from Nov 15 till the formation of the new government after the election, a senior official said Monday.
“Irshad Ullah Khan will be taking oath of office of caretaker prime minister on Thursday,” the official, who did not wish to be identified, told IANS.
Khan is chairman of Middle East Finance Trading Pakistan Private Limited, a pioneer of solar and wind energy systems in the country. He is member of several national and international business associations.
In his introduction available on the Internet, he writes, “I am the largest gemstones mines owner in Asia. I own four ruby mines, one emerald mine, two aquamarine mines, one tourmaline mine, and one topaz mine.”
The official said that the present National Assembly will complete its tenure the same day and incumbent Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz will be stepping down.
The official said that several names for the ministers’ slots were under consideration, including a leading journalist for the information ministry. Without disclosing the name, the official said that the journalist has independent standing in the country.
He said that the president had decided to keep the caretaker cabinet short and it would have a maximum of 15 ministers.
According to the constitution, the members of the caretaker set-up cannot contest the elections.
The three provincial assemblies of Punjab, Balochistan and Sindh would be dissolved Nov 20 and the caretaker chief ministers would be installed. The fourth assembly in the North West Frontier Province has already been dissolved.