Imran Khan will continue to serve as the prime minister of Pakistan till the appointment of a caretaker premier under Article 224-A(4) of the Constitution, according to a notification issued by President Dr Arif Alvi 's office.
Article 224(A) deals with the procedure of the appointment of the caretaker prime minister in case the leader of the house and leader of the opposition do not agree on the name of a caretaker prime minister, while 224(A) says:
"The incumbent Prime Minister and the incumbent Chief Minister shall continue to hold office till appointment of the care-taker Prime Minister and the care-taker Chief Minister, as the case may be."Earlier in the day, the Cabinet Secretariat had issued a notification stating that Imran Khan had "ceased to hold the office of the prime minister of Pakistan with immediate effect".However, under Article 94 of the Constitution, the president "may ask the Prime Minister to continue to hold office until his successor enters upon the office of Prime Minister".
These development came after the National Assembly Deputy Speaker Qasim Suri disallowed the no-trust vote against PM Imran by ruling it to be part of a "foreign conspiracy" and in violation of Article 5 of the Constitution, which demands loyalty to the state.
As the opposition reeled in the face of the government's move, PM Imran appeared on television moments later to announce that he had advised the president to dissolve the NA and called on the country's citizens to prepare for fresh elections.
Shortly after, the president dissolved the lower house of Parliament under Article 58 of the Constitution, which says:
"The president shall dissolve the National Assembly if so advised by the prime minister; and the National Assembly shall, unless sooner dissolved, stand dissolved at the expiration of forty-eight hours after the prime minister has so advised."
According to the Constitution, the new elections will be held under a caretaker prime minister, Karachi-based legal expert Ismat Mehdi told meia.
Imran Khan and the leader of the country's opposition will jointly pick the caretaker premier, he said, explaining that the government and opposition will propose three candidates each, with one to be picked for the post.
However, if the two sides cannot agree on a name, the matter will go to a parliamentary committee, which comprises of Treasury and opposition lawmakers, and remains functional despite the assembly's dissolution.
If the parliamentary committee also cannot reach a consensus, the Election Commission of Pakistan will do the job.
If all fail, then the country's Supreme Court will eventually appoint the caretaker prime minister.
Until the appointment of the caretaker premier, the incumbent prime minister will continue to serve.
Meanwhile, Pakistan's top court has prevented the political parties and state institutions from taking any "unconstitutional step" following the ongoing political crisis in the country.
The Supreme Court adjourned the hearing until Monday to take up petitions filed by opposition leaders against the dissolution of National Assembly.
Former Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid said Imran Khan would remain prime minister for next 15 days and the general elections would be held within 90 days and expressed the hope that Imran Khan would win the next general elections with a two thirds majority.
He maintained that he had advised the prime minister to impose emergency but Imran did not approve it. The opposition move had made Imran Khan more popular among the people, he added.
He said he had already vacated his office and was shifting to Room-11 of the Old Hostel. Rashid said Indian channels had been “wailing and crying” over the situation in Pakistan as “their buddies”, with whom they could restart their businesses, did not form the government.
I have been saying for the last three years that the PML-N will not come into power, he added.
To a question, he said the decision of Supreme Court would be honoured.
