Senator Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar to be caretaker PM

Outgoing Leader of Opposition in the National Assembly (NA) Raja Riaz announced on Saturday that the caretaker prime minister will be Senator Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar.

Speaking to the media following consultations with outgoing premier Shehbaz Sharif, Riaz said that they both agreed that the caretaker PM should be from a “small province and a non-controversial personality”.

“I had given this name and the PM has consented to this name … I and the PM have signed on the summary.”

Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar would take oath as the head of the interim set-up on Sunday, he added.

They have also sent advice regarding the appointment of Kakar as the caretaker prime minister to President Dr Arif Alvi. Later, the president approved his appointment under Article 224 A of the Constitution.

Earlier, President Alvi, in a letter, had asked the premier and the opposition leader to finalise the candidate for the caretaker premiership by August 12.

In his letter to PM Shehbaz and Riaz, the president recalled that he had dissolved the NA on the former’s advice on August 9.

Under Provision of Article 224 (1A) of the Constitution, the president appoints the caretaker prime minister in consultation with the [outgoing] prime minister and leader of the opposition in the outgoing NA.

President Alvi asks PM Shehbaz, Raja Riaz to propose name for caretaker premier by Aug 12

‘What was the hurry’

During an informal interaction with journalists at a farewell meeting on Friday, PM Shehbaz stated that he does not know what was the hurry to the president to write a letter to him with regard to appointment of caretaker prime minister.

The prime minister added that the constitution has fixed eight days for the appointment of the caretaker.

He said that the president should have read the constitution and waited.

“If a decision is not taken in three days, the parliamentary committee will take a decision in three days, and if the parliamentary committee could not decide, the Election Commission of Pakistan will look into the matter,” the premier explained.

The National Assembly was dissolved by President Alvi at midnight on Wednesday under Article 58(1) on the advice of the prime minister.

The process to appoint a caretaker PM was conducted under Article 224-A of the Constitution, which will usher in an interim government overseeing elections.

It was earlier reported that three names were proposed: former diplomat Jalil Abbas Jilani and former chief justice of Pakistan Tassaduq Hussain Jilani were nominated by Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), while Sindh Governor Kamran Tessori’s name was given by Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P).

However, no public announcement was made by the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) in this regard.