Senator Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar to be Pakistan's caretaker Prime Minister

Islamabad: Senator Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar was on Saturday picked as Pakistan's caretaker Prime Minister to govern the cash-strapped country and oversee general elections later this year.

Outgoing Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and the Leader of Opposition Raja Riaz finalised his name after two rounds of deliberations. Kakar, a lawmaker belonging to Balochistan Awami Party (BAP), will lead a caretaker government until fresh election is held later this year. Speaking to the media, Riaz said: "We decided that the interim prime minister would be from a smaller province". He said that Kakar's name was suggested by him which was approved.

President Arif Alvi approved the appointment of Kakar as the caretaker prime minister under Article 224(1A) of the Constitution. The president signed the advice soon after it was dispatched for his approval. Prime Minister Sharif recommended the dissolution of the National Assembly on August 9, three days before the mandated term, therefore, according to the Constitution, the next general elections will be held in 90 days.

The polls are expected to be delayed for a couple of months as new census results have been approved by the outgoing government, which makes it a constitutional obligation to carry out delimitation before elections