- Thursday, February 27, 2025
The announcement of Kakar becoming the interim prime minister came on August 12 after his predecessor Shehbaz Sharif had more than a meeting with former opposition leader Raja Riaz.
By: Shubham Ghosh
ANWAARUL Haq Kakar was on Monday (14) sworn in as the eighth caretaker prime minister of Pakistan, the same day the country celebrated its 77th Independence Day.
A former member of the Pakistani Senate from the province of Balochistan, Kakar succeeded Shehbaz Sharif who advised president Arif Alvi last week to dissolve the national assembly ahead of the next general elections.
President Dr. Arif Alvi administering the oath of office to Mr. Anwar-ul-Haq Kakar as the caretaker Prime Minister of Pakistan, at an oath-taking ceremony held at Aiwan-e-Sadr, Islamabad. pic.twitter.com/zhA8YmU0R0
— The President of Pakistan (@PresOfPakistan) August 14, 2023
The leader’s oath-taking ceremony was attended by Pakistan’s military leaders including chief of army staff Asim Munir, Sharif and the chief of the spy agency Inter Services Intelligence, Lt Gen Nadeem Anjum, among others.
Kakar, 52, met the military officers and greeted them on the occasion. He also received a guard of honour. The caretaker PM will choose a cabinet now to run Pakistan as it heads into the poll period.
The announcement of Kakar becoming the interim prime minister came on Saturday (12) after Sharif had more than a meeting with former opposition leader Raja Riaz.
In a statement, Sharif said he had confidence that Kakar would ensure fair elections. He said the “trust reposed by all parties in Kakar’s name proves their proper choice as the upcoming caretaker PM is an educated person and a patriot”, Pakistan’s Dawn reported.
Earlier on Monday, the chairman of Pakistani Senate, Sadiq Sanjarani, accepted Kakar’s resignation from the upper chamber of the parliament. He had announced his resignation on Sunday (13) from the chamber as well as the Balochistan Awami Party (BAP), which he founded five years ago.
According to Pakistan’s Geo News, Kakar resigned from his post because he wanted to become an impartial interim prime minister. He was quoted as saying by the outlet that he decided to step down since he has the responsibility to ensure free and fair elections for which he has to cooperate with the poll body.
Kakar hails from Qilla Saifullah district in Balochistan bordering Afghanistan and is the second person from the province to head an interim set-up of Pakistan after Mir Hazar Khoso, who became the caretaker prime minister exactly a decade ago.
The new interim PM’s appointment comes with less than a year remaining for his six-year term in the senate to complete. Kakar made his electoral debut in 2008 on a ticket of the Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid but lost to Pakistan Peoples Party candidate Nasir Ali Shah. He later joined the Pakistan Muslim League – Nawaz and worked as the spokesperson of Sanaullah Zehri, former chief minister of Balochistan, for nearly three years.
In 2018, Kakar, who belongs to a middle-class Pashtun family, “led” a no-trust vote against Zehri, resulting in Zehri stepping down from the post.
The same year, Kakar became a senator as an independent candidate. He announced the formation of BAP soon after with the help of Syed Saeed Ahmed Hashmi, a senator.
He remained the chief spokesperson of the party which formed the government in Balochistan after the 2018 polls, and represented BAP in the Senate as its parliamentary chief for over four years. He
He has remained the chief spokesperson of the party, which also formed the government in Balochistan after the 2018 elections, and represented BAP in the Senate as its parliamentary leader for more than four years.
In the Pakistani Senate, Kakar served in important standing committees on finance and revenue, foreign affairs and science and technology. He has also been the chairman of the Senate Standing Committee for Overseas Pakistanis and Human Resources.
Fluent in a number of languages such as English, Persian, Balochi, Brahvi, Urdu as well as his native Pashto, Kakar went to a private school in Quetta and studied at Cadet College Kohat for intermediate studies. He later returned to Quetta and received a higher degree in sociology and political science from the University of Balochistan.
He also went to the UK for a law degree after completing his education at home but returned without completing the studies, Dawn reported.
