PPP denies consensus reached on caretaker Prime Minister as PML-N sticks to Ishaq Dar

Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) has on Monday denied that the ruling coalition has reached agreement on who will become interim Prime Minister as reports of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) nominating Finance Minister Ishaq Dar gain traction.

Minister for Climate Change, Sherry Rehman, held a press conference today to categorically deny that a consensus has been reached after media reports surfaced last night that PPP has agreed to Dar’s nomination.

“Someone has been crowned as caretaker Prime Minister based on fake news,” Rehman said in a thinly veiled reference to rumors about Ishaq Dar. “We want a level playing field for everyone,” she pointedly said, adding that no name has as yet been suggested to PPP.

She also stated that her party is forming a committee of three members to make decisions about the caretaker setup.

News reports about Dar, the father-in-law of the younger daughter of PML-N head Nawaz Sharif, set off frenzied criticism among political analysts and commentators. Dar is a close ally of Nawaz Sharif’s, raising concerns about his neutrality as a caretaker Prime Minister.

The news was first reported by Express Tribune’s Shehbaz Rana, while The News’ Azaz Syed tweeted last night that PPP had agreed to Dar’s nomination.