Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar takes oath as 8th caretaker prime minister

ISLAMABAD: A former senator and a leader of the Balochistan Awami Party (BAP) – Anwaar-ul-Haq – on Monday took oath as the eighth caretaker prime minister of Pakistan, ARY News reported.

President Arif Alvi administered the oath to Kakar at the Aiwan-e-Sadar, with the outgoing prime minister, Shehbaz Sharif, and his former cabinet members in presence.

In a congratulatory gesture, Shahbaz Sharif extended warm felicitations to Caretaker Prime Minister Anwar Haq Kakar.

The caretaker PM Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar will lead the country through to the general elections due in months.

“I have confidence in the caretaker prime minister’s ability to conduct free and fair elections,” outgoing premier Shehbaz Sharif said in a farewell address to the nation late Sunday.

Kakar’s first task will be to choose a cabinet to run the country as it heads into an election period that could last for months.

The National Assembly was dissolved last week, with elections due within 90 days according to the constitution.

There has been speculation for months that the vote would be delayed.

The election commission needed time to redraw constituency boundaries after the latest census published earlier this month to hold elections according to the new population count.

Senator Anwarul Haq Kakar was named as Pakistan’s caretaker prime minister, the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said on Saturday.

PM Shehbaz and opposition leader Raja Riaz had sent an advice regarding Kakar’s appointment as the caretaker prime minister to President Alvi, which was signed by president.