ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Sunday expressed confidence that Senator Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar, who has been appointed as the country’s caretaker prime minister, would ensure free, fair, and transparent elections, the state-run Radio Pakistan said in a report.
Pakistan’s President Dr. Arif Alvi ratified Kakar’s appointment as caretaker prime minister on Saturday, a day after his name was unanimously announced by the country’s outgoing PM Sharif, and the leader of the opposition in the National Assembly, Raja Riaz. It remains unclear when Kakar will take the oath of office.
According to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), Sharif congratulated Kakar on his appointment and referred to him as an “educated person and patriot.”
“In a statement, the Prime Minister expressed confidence that the Interim prime minister would ensure holding of free, fair and impartial elections in the country,” Radio Pakistan said.
Sharif said the previous Pakistani government had struggled to bring about economic stability in the country, hoping that the process would continue. He prayed for the caretaker government’s success.
Kakar, a founding member of the Balochistan Awami Party (BAP) which has its roots in Pakistan’s southwestern Balochistan province, entered the political fray in 2008 and is considered by political analysts who have followed his career to be close to the country’s powerful military establishment.
He started his political career from the platform of the Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) party and contested an election against the Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party chief, Mehmood Khan Achakzai, on a National Assembly seat from Quetta. He lost the contest and joined Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) in 2012, though he could not secure the party ticket for the 2013 national polls.
Caretaker governments in Pakistan are mandated to supervise free and fair elections in the country, which are scheduled to take place 90 days after the dissolution of the National Assembly. This means that as per the constitution, polls should be held by November in Pakistan.
However, after Sharif’s administration approved the results of the 2023 population census, Pakistan’s election regulator is bound to draw new boundaries for hundreds of federal and provincial constituencies. The Election Commission of Pakistan will be able to give an election date only after that exercise is complete. The vote is thus widely expected to be delayed to as far as February.
Kakar will take over the reins of the country at a time of heightened political crisis in Pakistan, with former prime minister Imran Khan behind bars on graft allegations as the South Asian country looks to consolidate its fragile economy.
