Kakar sworn in as caretaker Pakistan PM

Islamabad, Pakistan — AFP

Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar has been sworn in as Pakistan’s caretaker prime minister to see the country through to an election due in months.

Kakar, 52, takes charge of a country that has been wracked by political and economic instability for months, with former prime minster Imran Khan in jail and disqualified from elections for five years over corruption and defamation charges.

Kakar was sworn in by President Arif Alvi on Pakistan’s Independence Day in a ceremony aired live on TV, having resigned from his post as senator on Sunday.

“I Anwaar-ul-Haq, do swear solemnly… that I will bear true faith and allegiance to Pakistan,” he said.

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 officially dissolved last week, with elections due within 90 days according to the constitution.

However, data from the latest census was finally published earlier this month, and the outgoing government said the election commission needed time to redraw constituency boundaries.

There has been speculation for months that a vote would be delayed as the establishment struggles to stabilize a country facing overlapping security, economic and political crises.

Pakistan has been in political turmoil since Khan was dismissed as premier by a no-confidence vote in April 2022. The popular politician ran a show of street power railing against the ruling PDM and Pakistan’s powerful military, which according to him was involved in the “conspiracy” for his ouster.

He has been disqualified from standing for office for five years, but is appealing against his sentence and conviction.