ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is expected to spend his last day in office, busy holding consultations with allies and opposition leaders regarding the formation of an ‘empowered’ caretaker set-up.

Speaking at a ceremony at General Headquarters in Rawalpindi on Tuesday, PM Shehbaz said: “On the completion of the incumbent government’s term, I would send a summary to the President of Pakistan for dissolution of the National Assembly by Wednesday (today).”

The premier confirmed that he would write to President Dr Arif Alvi today to bring an end to the incumbent government’s tenure, three days before the end of its term.

“Tomorrow [Wednesday] my government completes its term and [after] meeting constitutional norms, we will hand over the reins to the interim set-up,” the premier said.

In a separate meeting with media bodies, the premier said after the dissolution of the assembly, the chief election commissioner was mandated to decide the future course of action regarding the elections. However, he added, all the parties were unanimous in their view that elections should be held as soon as possible.

It is expected that the prime minister will hold a meeting with the Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Raja Riaz to fulfil his constitutional obligation i.e. consultations regarding the appointment of an interim premier.

In addition to this, a final meeting of the federal cabinet would also be held, where the premier will give a round-up of his government’s performance since April last year.

He is also expected to take cabinet members into confidence over the composition of the caretaker government, which is likely to have representation from all allied parties. A source privy to developments said that there was a possibility that parties in the ruling coalition may get the same portfolios in the interim set-up that they are currently holding.

In his speech at GHQ, PM Shehbaz said: “Before leaving the government, we are passing on a comprehensive system of reforms and progress to our successors through the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC). The system was jointly made by the federal and provincial government ad institutions,” he said.

He said if his party was given a chance to return to power in the upcoming general elections, he would prove his commitment to rid the country of poverty and loans to make it self-sufficient.

Meanwhile, Leader of the Opposition Raja Riaz told reporters on Tuesday that he hoped his meeting with the PM would take place today (Wednesday) where these matters would be discussed. He was of the view that consultations would take place at “the right time”.

According to the opposition leader, he had completed the consultation process with his allies and three names for the interim prime minister were almost finalised.

Mr Riaz said that the names for the caretaker PM were finalised after he held three meetings with lawmakers from the opposition. “They do not include any politicians, but an economist has been shortlisted,” he revealed.

The opposition leader said he could even consider a politician for the interim PM slot if suggested by the government. Some political observers believed that Raja Riaz is a “friendly opposition leader” so he will not oppose the name chosen by PM Shehbaz for the slot of caretaker prime minister.

Regarding potential delays in elections, Mr Riaz said polls should ideally be held within three months but the approval of the latest census has complicated the matters. “I think the election will be delayed by six months,” he said.

It may be noted that Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah has already said that general elections could be delayed due to the delimitations of constituencies after the notification of the 2023 census. He expected polls could be delayed till March next year.