Pakistan Senator Anwar-ul-Haq-Kakar Named Caretaker Prime Minister Ahead Of Elections

The Prime Minister’s office stated that Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and opposition leader Raja Riaz agreed on Saturday to designate Senator Anwar-ul-Haq-Kakar as caretaker premier to oversee elections.

Kakar, a lesser-known politician from the southwestern region of Balochistan, will form a cabinet and lead a government to steer the nuclear-armed country through an economic and political crisis until a new government is formed.

“The prime minister (Sharif) and leader of the opposition have jointly signed the advice which will be sent to the president for approval”, the statement reads.

Kakar’s appointment was approved by President Arif Alvi.

A neutral caretaker government oversees national elections in Pakistan, which must be held within 90 days of the dissolution of the parliament’s lower house, which in this instance means early November.

The selection of a caretaker prime minister has taken on added significance this time since the candidate would have additional powers to make policy decisions, and there are fears that the elections could be delayed by up to six months.

The Election Commission must redraw the boundaries for hundreds of federal and provincial constituencies before setting an election date.

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