Jalil Abbas Jilani likely to be appointed as the Caretaker Prime Minister, Sources

Jalil Abbas Jilani is likely to be appointed as the Caretaker Prime Minister, Sources claim on Wednesday.

However, an official announcement is yet to arrive as Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will send a summary to President Dr. Arif Alvi later today for the dissolution of the National Assembly (NA).

Despite serving in the US Amb (R) Jalil Abbas Jilani has also served as Pakistan’s High Commissioner in India.

PM Shehbaz Sharif had announced earlier that assemblies would be dissolved on August 9 (today), three days ahead of its mandated period, following which elections are to be held within 90 days.

As per the news source, 68-year-old Jalil Abbas Jilani, a Grade-22 retired Pakistani diplomat who served as the Foreign Secretary of Pakistan, and US ambassador, hailing from Multan is most likely to serve as the interim premier.

Despite serving as the US Ambassador (2013-2017) Jalil Abbas Jilani has also served as Pakistan’s High Commissioner in India.

The prime minister will hold a meeting with the Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Raja Riaz to fulfill his constitutional obligation regarding the appointment of an interim premier.

The prime minister and the opposition leader can consult on the matter for three days, even after the dissolution of the assembly.

In case a consensus is not reached, then the matter is to be referred to the Election Commission of Pakistan.

Who is Jalil Abbas Jilani?

Jalil Abbas Jilani was born on February 3, 1955, in Multan to a family known for high-profile bureaucrats.

He served as the 22nd Ambassador of Pakistan to the United States from December 2013 to February 2017 and previously served as the Foreign Secretary of Pakistan from March 2012 to December 2013.

He currently serves as a Senior Director at the Centre for Aerospace and Security Studies (CASS).

Before joining the Foreign Service of Pakistan in March 1979,  he was educated as a lawyer at the University of Oxford.

He graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Law and M.Sc degree in Defense and Strategic Studies.

He served as the deputy secretary at Prime Minister’s Office between 1989 and 1992 and as the deputy high commissioner to India between 1999 and 2003.

He headed the South Asia desk at the Foreign Office between 2003 and 2007, during which time he was also appointed as the Ministry’s Spokesman.

In 2007, he was commissioned as Pakistan’s High Commissioner to Australia and served until 2009, when he was tasked as Ambassador of Pakistan to the European Union based out of Brussels. Jilani was promoted to the highest rank of BPS-22 grade in 2010 and consequently became the country’s Foreign Secretary in March 2012, the top civil service official in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

He is also the cousin of former PM Yusuf Raza Gilani and speaks several languages including French, Arabic, Seraiki, Punjabi, and Pushto.