Egypt's ruling military council has tasked former prime minister Kamal al-Ganzuri with forming a new cabinet, local television reports.
Ganzuri headed the government from 1996 to 1999, under ousted president Hosni Mubarak.
The reports of his appointment came after the ruling military council on Tuesday accepted the resignation of caretaker prime minister Essam Sharaf's cabinet, amid spiralling unrest, and invited the country's political forces for crisis talks on the formation of a "national salvation" government, AFP reported.
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After the popular uprisings earlier this year that toppled Mubarak, Ganzuri distanced himself from the former leader in a television interview, prompting several Facebook pages to recommend him as a future presidential candidate.
Born in 1933, Ganzuri served as minister of planning and international co-operation before his first tenure as Egyptian prime minister.
He then made a name for himself by working to strengthen ties between Egypt and the World Bank and International Monetary Fund.
The move if confirmed would mark the latest attempt by the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) to regain the initiative after days of deadly clashes since Saturday between security forces and protesters demanding an immediate end of military rule, writes AFP.
The clashes have seen at least 38 protesters have been killed and more than 2000 injured, according to AAP.
A call for new protests in Tahrir Square come despite an apology by the military rulers on Thursday for police killings.
The violence has cast a dark shadow over Monday's looming parliamentary elections, leading the SCAF to pledge to maintain security during the first poll since popular uprisings toppled Mubarak in February. At least one party has announced its withdrawal.
There was an uneasy calm on Thursday among the crowds massed in the square, the epicentre of Egypt's popular unrest, after a truce negotiated by Muslim clerics.
The cabinet said in a statement on Facebook that an agreement has been reached between security forces and protesters to halt the
confrontations.
The military council said stepping down would amount to a "betrayal" of the Egyptian people.
