ISLAMABAD: Chairman Senate Sadiq Sanjrani on Monday accepted the resignation of Anwar-ul-Haq Kakar as a senator after which he was appointed as the eighth Caretaker Prime Minister of the country.
He will be sworn in as caretaker prime minister later today.
Kakar, an independent legislator, was elected to the Senate in 2018 and has been a very active politician. The resignation comes as he tries to remain neutral in his duties as head of the interim setup.
A notification from the Senate Secretariat, “Member Senate of Pakistan Anwarul Haq Kakar has resigned his seat in writing personally before the Chairman Senate, as a matter of principle of neutrality to become caretaker Prime Minister.” has been granted,” read a notification from the Senate Secretariat
“The Hon’ble Chairman Senate has expressed his pleasure in accepting the resignation and consequently his seat has become vacant with effect from August 14 under Clause (1) of Article 64 of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan.”
The development comes a day after Kakar quit the Balochistan Awami Party (BAP) membership and resigned as a senator.
Taking to X – formerly known as Twitter – Kakar said: “Due to the primary responsibility entrusted to me as Caretaker Prime Minister, I have decided to quit my membership of the Balochistan Awami Party (BAP). And has decided to resign from the post of the Senate.”
The Caretaker Prime Minister-designate also requested the public to pray for him so that he fulfills their expectations by discharging his primary responsibility well.
Politicians from both sides – the former government and the opposition – welcomed the appointment and expressed hope that the caretaker prime minister would ensure free and fair elections in the country.
Kakar, 52, a little-known politician from the southwestern province of Balochistan, will name a cabinet and head a government to steer the nation out of economic and political crises until a new government is elected.
The election of a caretaker prime minister has become more important as the candidate will have additional powers to make policy decisions on economic matters while elections may be delayed by up to six months.
The Election Commission of Pakistan has to delimit hundreds of federal and provincial constituencies and based on that, it will give the date of elections.
