Senator Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar named Pakistan's new caretaker prime minister

Senator Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar has been appointed as Pakistan's new caretaker prime minister to lead the country and hold national elections scheduled to be held in November.

Opposition leader Raja Riaz Ahmad named Kakar as caretaker prime minister following a meeting with outgoing prime minister Shehbaz Sharif on Saturday, according to an official statement.

"We first agreed that whoever should be prime minister, he should be from a smaller province so smaller provinces' grievances should be addressed," said Riaz.

In a tweet, Kakar thanked "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 are requested from everyone that Allah gives me the fortitude to carry out my responsibilities with due diligence," he stated. 

Kakar is from Pakistan’s least-populous province, Balochistan. He was elected to the upper house in 2018 on an independent ticket, according to the Senate website.

Pakistan's President Arif Alvi approved the appointment of Senator Kakar as the caretaker prime minister. He signed the advice soon after it was dispatched for his approval.

In a tweet on Saturday, Senator and former journalist Mushahid Hussain Sayed congratulated Kakar on becoming Pakistan’s first Pahhtun prime minister and called him "a ‘thinking’ Senator from Balochistan."

Pakistan has been in political turmoil since former prime minister Imran Khan was dismissed by a no-confidence vote in April 2022. Khan, chairman of the Pakistan Tehrik-e Insaf (PTI) party was jailed last weekend for three years for graft.

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Police officers swooped in on Khan’s home in the eastern city of Lahore on Saturday and arrested him.

Khan was briefly detained in Islamabad in connection with the same case in May. His arrest, back then, sparked widespread protests and prompted a crackdown that saw almost all of his party’s top leadership arrested.

The three-year jail sentence disqualifies Khan from taking part in elections that are scheduled to be held before the end of the year. Some officials, however, already said the elections will be delayed until next year.

Asked if a vote would take place this year, interior minister Rana Sanaullah said this week, "An absolutely straightforward answer -- No."

But the delay said Michael Kugelman, director of the South Asia Institute at the Wilson Center, “could simply anger the public more and galvanize an opposition that has already suffered through months of crackdowns."

Just before his arrest, Khan called on his supporters “not [to] sit at home in silence” and stand out for him.

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