Anwar-ul-Haq Kakar was sworn in as Pakistan’s eighth caretaker prime minister on Monday to see the country through months of elections.
President Arif Alvi, along with former Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif and his former cabinet members, administered the oath to Kakar, a former senator and leader of the Balochistan Awami Party (BAP).
Army Chief General Asim Munir, Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee General Sahir Shamshad Mirza, Chairman Senate Sadiq Sanjrani and other senior officials were also present on this occasion.
After the swearing-in ceremony, Caretaker Prime Minister Kakar was presented a guard of honor at the Prime Minister’s Office.
— PTV News (@PTVNewsOfficial) August 14, 2023
The outgoing Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif was also presented a guard of honor as soon as he left the Prime Minister’s office.
“I have confidence in the caretaker prime minister’s ability to conduct free and fair elections,” former prime minister Shehbaz said in his farewell address to the nation late on Sunday.
Politicians from both sides – the former government and the opposition – had welcomed the appointment and hoped that the caretaker prime minister would ensure free and fair elections in the country.
Kakar’s first task — as he takes charge of a country that has been reeling from months of political and economic instability — is to choose a cabinet to run the country as it heads into an election cycle that will last months. May continue.
Parliament was formally dissolved last week, with elections to be held within 90 days, according to the constitution.
But the latest census data was finally released earlier this month, and the outgoing government said the Election Commission needed time to redraw constituencies.
There has been speculation for months that the vote would be delayed as authorities struggle to stabilize a country facing overlapping security, economic and political crises.
The country has been in political turmoil since Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan was ousted as prime minister in a no-confidence vote in April 2022, which led to his impeachment last weekend. was sent to jail for three years in one case.
He has been disqualified from office for five years, but is appealing his conviction and sentence.
Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar — a brief profile
Kakar was born in 1971 in Muslim Bagh area of Qila Saifullah district of Balochistan and received his primary education from St. Francis School in Quetta.
The eighth caretaker prime minister belongs to the Kakar tribe of Pashtun descent. The former senator later joined Cadet College Kohat.
However, after the death of his father, he returned to Quetta. After that, he did Masters in Political Science and Sociology from Balochistan University.
Kakar’s career began by teaching in a school in his hometown.
He joined politics on a Muslim League (Q) ticket for a seat in the National Assembly in 2008 but later joined the Muslim League (N).
He then served as the spokesperson of the then Balochistan Chief Minister Sanaullah Zehri for about 3 years from 2013-15.
He was later elected to the Senate as an independent candidate in 2018, soon after, he announced the formation of BAP with the help of Senator Syed Saeed Ahmed Hashmi.
In the Senate, Kakar was part of the Standing Committees on Finance and Revenue, Foreign Affairs and Science and Technology and also served as the Chairman of the Standing Committee on Overseas Pakistanis and Human Resources in the Upper House.
“Though he has been involved in politics, Kakar is known as a great intellectual in the country,” senior anchorperson Hamid Mir told JEE News.
The senator also has good relations with mainstream political parties including Muslim League-N and People’s Party.
