Pakistan lawmakers tasked with picking interim PM

committee of Pakistani lawmakers has been tasked with picking a caretaker prime minister to lead the nation in the run-up to polls after politicians failed to reach a deal, an official statement said Tuesday. Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf of the Pakistan People's Party and opposition leader Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan of the Pakistan Muslim League-N party had a deadline of March 19 to agree on somebody to take charge. But all the names proposed by Ashraf to lead the country until the elections, due by mid-May, were rejected. "Dr Fehmida Mirza, Speaker (of the) National Assembly has constituted the committee on appointment of the caretaker prime minister," said an official notification issued by the National Assembly Secretariat. The committee, which includes four lawmakers from the outgoing governing coalition and four from opposition parties, has three days to decide on a name. If they fail, the matter goes to the Election Commission of Pakistan. According to Pakistan's constitution, the commission's decision, to be taken within two days, would be final. Pakistan's parliament made history last week by becoming the first national assembly in the country's history to complete a full term but Taliban attacks and record levels of violence against Shiite Muslims have raised fears about security for the polls. Ashraf, whose government was led by the PPP, will continue serving as premier without his cabinet until a caretaker prime minister is selected.