Pakistan Lawmaker Anwaar-Ul-Haq Kakar Selected As Interim Prime Minister

Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar was named the caretaker Prime Minister after a meeting between outgoing premier Shehbaz Sharif and opposition leader Raja Riaz.

Pakistan Senator Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar ( Image Source :Twitter/@anwaar_kakar )

New Delhi: Senator Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar, a lawmaker from Balochistan, has been selected as caretaker prime minister of Pakistan, a statement from the Prime Minister's Office said, reported Geo News. The decision was taken after a meeting between outgoing premier Shehbaz Sharif and opposition leader Raja Riaz.

Taking to Twitter, Kakar wrote, “Thank you to Allah Almighty who gives me the opportunity to Serve the Nation as Caretaker PM of Pakistan. I.A (inshallah) will do the best which will be in favour of Pakistan.”

The incumbent Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and the leader of the opposition jointly signed an agreement and appointed the Pakistan senator as the interim prime minister on Saturday.

"The prime minister and leader of the opposition jointly signed the advice and it was sent to the president," a statement issued by the Pakistan PM's office said. According to reports, Kakar will be sworn in on Sunday.

It is to be noted that the development comes a day after Shehbaz Sharif said that the Constitution of Pakistan gives three days to appoint the interim Prime Minister after the dissolution of assemblies. The Pakistan National Assembly was dissolved by President Arif Alvi on the advice of the incumbent premier on August 9.

The caretaker prime minister will manage the interim government affairs till the general elections that are likely to take place next year in February or March, as per reports.

“We decided that the interim prime minister would be from a smaller province,” Riaz told media persons after the meeting.

As per the Constitution, if the outgoing prime minister and the opposition leader fail to propose a name, then the matter goes to the parliamentary committee for the appointment of the interim PM.

According to law, the outgoing PM and the opposition leader would send their respective preferences to the parliamentary committee, which would then finalise the name within three days. However, if the incumbent PM and the opposition leader fail to reach a consensus, then the Election Commission of Pakistan will select an interim prime minister within two days from when the names were proposed.