By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: Anwarul Haq Kakar, a former senator and founder of a party close to the military, was sworn in as the country’s caretaker prime minister on Monday, tasked with overseeing a neutral interim government until the next general elections.
Kakar, 52, took the oath of office from President Arif Alvi at a ceremony in Islamabad that coincided with the country’s Independence Day.
Kakar is an ethnic Pashtun from Balochistan province and a member of the Balochistan Awami Party (BAP), which he formed in 2018 with the backing of the powerful establishment. He resigned from the Senate and the BAP on Sunday, saying he wanted to be impartial as the interim premier.
Kakar will lead a caretaker cabinet that will run the country until the next polls, which are expected to be held in November. He will also work with the Election Commission of Pakistan to ensure free and fair elections.
The oath-taking ceremony was attended by top military and civilian officials, including army chief General Asim MunirChairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee Gen. Sahir Shamshad Mirza, Naval Chief Admiral Amjad Khan Niazi, Inter Services Intelligence chief Lt. Gen. Nadeem Anjum and former prime minister Shehbaz Sharif.
Sharif, who led the outgoing government of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), and Raja Riaz Ahmad, the leader of the opposition in the dissolved National Assembly, had agreed on Kakar’s name as the caretaker prime minister after several rounds of consultations.
Sharif, who stepped down on Sunday after completing the five-year term of the parliament, expressed confidence in Kakar and said he was an educated and patriotic person. He also wished him luck on X, a social media platform formerly known as Twitter.
“Best of luck, Kakar sb! (Now posting as former PM),” Sharif wrote.
Kakar is the eighth caretaker prime minister of Pakistan. The caretaker system is meant to ensure a level playing field for all political parties during the election period.
However, some analysts have raised questions about Kakar’s neutrality and independence, given his close ties with the military establishment and his role in forming the BAP, which is seen as a proxy party of the establishment in Balochistan.
The BAP was formed after several lawmakers from different parties defected to join it. It won the provincial elections in Balochistan with the support of independent candidates and allied parties.
The military establishment has been accused of meddling in politics and influencing elections in Pakistan, especially in Balochistan, where it has been fighting a separatist insurgency for decades.
Kakar faces several challenges as the caretaker prime minister, including a worsening economic crisis and political situation, a resurgent militant attacks and strained relations with neighbouring India and Afghanistan.
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