Constitutional experts told Business Recorder that the Constitution of Pakistan was silent about the qualification of the Caretaker Prime Minister and members of the caretaker cabinet. The Constitution does not stipulate that a government employee cannot become caretaker prime minister or a member of the caretaker cabinet. According to Article-224(1B) of the Constitution, "Members of the care-taker Cabinets including the care-taker Prime Minister and the care-taker Chief Minister and their immediate family members shall not be eligible to contest the immediately following elections to such Assemblies." Explanation:-In this clause "immediate family members" means spouse and children."
Sohail Wajahat Siddiqui, caretaker Federal Minister for Petroleum and Natural Resources, is a prominent name in Pakistan's corporate sector and is currently the Chairman of Pakistan State Oil's Board of Management. He had served as the Managing Director (MD) & Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Siemens Pakistan (SP) for over 12 years.
He holds an MS degree in Electronics from King's College, London and was the first Pakistani to head Siemens Pakistan in the history of the company. His many accolades in the corporate sector include having served as President of the Overseas Investors Chamber of Commerce and Industry (OICC&I) and President of Management Association of Pakistan (MAP). He has also served as a Board Member of Pakistan Steel, KPT and KASB Bank. The Government of Pakistan having recognised his business acumen also nominated him as Board member of EPZA, TDAP, STEVTA, EDB and PEC.
He is also a Member of the Pakistan Business Council (PBC). He has also served and continues to serve as Board Member and Council Member of institutions like NUST, LUMS, IBA, KASBIT, AIESEC and the YPO/WPO. He has played an active role in charitable organisations and is currently serving as Chairman of Pakistan Red Crescent Society (PRCS), Sindh Branch. He is a member of Behbud Society of AKUH, Board Member of Tabba Heart Institute as well as member of Rotary Club Metropolitan. Siddiqui was also a Member of the committee that chalked out the Engineering Vision 2010 for Pakistan.
Talking to Business Recorder Thursday caretaker Minister for Petroleum and Natural Resources Sohail Wajahat H Siddique said that the government will make all possible efforts to effectively deal with the current energy crisis. Siddique said his Ministry will focus on just distribution of gas to all sectors of the economy. He said that the Ministry would try to resolve persisting financial issue of Pakistan State Oil. He maintained the mandate of the caretaker setup is to look after the State affairs during two months and in this period he along with his team will try to provide maxim relief to the masses.