Aziz, not Hussain will be Pak PM

Mir Jafarullah Khan Jamali may have proposed the name of Chaudhary Shaujat Hussain to succeed him as Pakistan's prime minister, but it is now emerging that it will only be an interim arrangement.

Soon after Jamali tendered his resignation to Hussain, who is also the chief of the Pakistan Muslim League (Q), Information Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed clarified that Hussain's takeover as prime minister was an interim arrangement and that he would be succeeded by economist-turned-Finance Minister Shoukat Aziz.

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While announcing his resignation at the PML-Q parliamentary party meeting, Jamali had said that Aziz would be 'a senior minister' in the new cabinet but did not hint at the possibility of his becoming the prime minister in the long term.

Hussain confirmed Ahmed's remarks, telling state-run PTV that he has been asked to take over as prime minister until Aziz, who is currently a senator, gets elected to the national assembly.

He said Aziz (54), a former Citibank executive, would shortly contest from one of the safe national assembly seats but, until then, would serve as finance minister in his cabinet.

"His election could take some time until then I would be the prime minister," Hussain said.