President approves appointment on advice of PM Shehbaz Sharif n Opposition Leader Raja Riaz claims he floated Kakar’s name during meeting with Shehbaz n Senator Kakar had co-launched Balochistan Awami Party and served as spokesman for Balochistan govt.

 

ISLAMABAD  -  President Arif Alvi Sat­urday signed a summa­ry to approve the ap­pointment of Anwaarul Haq as the caretak­er Prime Minister un­der Article 224(1A) of the Constitution, at Ai­wan-e-Sadr.

Earlier, a summary containing the advice of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif was sent to the President House after the prime minister and opposition leader Raja Riaz, of the outgoing Na­tional Assembly, agreed on the nomination of Senator Kakar and joint­ly signed the summary.

Prime Minister Mu­hammad Shehbaz Sharif and Leader of the Oppo­sition Raja Riaz in the dis­solved National Assem­bly on Saturday agreed to nominate Anwaarul Haq Kakar as the Caretaker Prime Minister.

The decision was tak­en during a consultation meeting held in the PM House. The consultation process for the appoint­ment of the caretaker prime minister was am­icably completed, the PM Office Media Wing said in a press release. The prime minister and the leader of the oppo­sition jointly signed the advice for the appoint­ment of the caretak­er PM and sent it to the President of Pakistan, it was added. On the occa­sion, the prime minister thanked the leader of the oppo­sition for his role in the parlia­ment during the last 16 months and the cooperation extended in the consultation process.

Anwaarul Haq Kakar was elected as an independent senator from Balochistan province for tenure of March 2018 to March 2024 in the general seat. He was also working as chairperson Sen­ate Standing Committee on Overseas Pakistanis and Hu­man Resource Development and as a member of the Busi­ness Advisory Committee, Fi­nance and Revenue, Foreign Affairs and Science and Tech­nology.

Kakar had co-launched a po­litical party Balochistan Awami Party (BAP) and also served as spokesman for the government of Balochistan. The consulta­tion process for the nomination of the caretaker prime minis­ter commenced after the pres­ident approved the dissolution of the National Assembly (NA) on August 9, on the advice of the prime minister.

The prime minister’s advice had sought dissolution of the assembly under Article 58(1) of the Constitution.

On 11 August, the president also wrote a letter to the prime minister and the opposition leader of the outgoing Assem­bly to propose the name of a suitable person for the appoint­ment of caretaker PM under Ar­ticle 224 (1A) of the Constitu­tion. The outcome of Saturday’s meeting thus paves the way for the transition of government to a caretaker set-up. The pro­posed caretaker prime minis­ter is expected to take oath of his office soon after which he would announce his caretaker cabinet in a run-up to the next general elections.

Former Opposition Leader in the National Assembly Raja Riaz Ahmed said Saturday that his nominee Anwaarul Haq Ka­kar was picked as the caretaker Prime Minister after three-day deliberations with outgoing PM Shehbaz Sharif.

Talking to journalists here, Raja Riaz Ahmed said he had a discussion with Shehbaz Shar­if, and they both agreed that the caretaker prime minister should hail from a smaller prov­ince, maintaining an apoliti­cal and unbiased stance. “I had put forward Kakar’s name for the caretaker PM position,” he maintained.

Riaz said that the summa­ry, signed by both himself and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, was then sent to President Arif Alvi. “We initially agreed that the prime minister should come from a smaller province to ad­dress grievances. Then settled on Kakar’s name,” Riaz said.

Anwar-ul-Haq Kakar, a sen­ator, was earlier designated as the caretaker prime minister to oversee national elections. This decision followed a meeting be­tween outgoing premier Sheh­baz Sharif and opposition lead­er Raja Riaz Ahmad.

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

Kakar, a relatively less­er-known figure from Ba­lochistan, will lead an interim government until the next elec­tions. Kakar is categorized as an independent politician by the Senate, but he is associated with the Balochistan Awami Party.

The National Assembly was dissolved recently, triggering a legal requirement for elections within 90 days. However, the latest census results indicate a need for more time to redraw constituencies.

The Election Commission will need to redefine boundaries for numerous federal and pro­vincial constituencies, based on which an election date will be announced. The forth­coming vote is likely to pro­ceed without former PM Im­ran Khan, who was convicted of corruption and sentenced to three years in jail. The interim government assumes control of a nation marred by political upheaval since Khan’s remov­al via a no-confidence vote in April 2022.

Meanwhile, in a tweet late Saturday Senator Kakar said, “I am thankful to the Almighty for being given an opportunity to serve the people of Pakistan. My gratitude also extends to all the stakeholders for reposing their trust in me to lead the country. Prayers requested from every­one that Allah gives me the for­titude to carry out my responsi­bilities with due diligence.