— Caretaker PM assumes office, presented guard of honour at PM’s House
— Meets various delegations, seeks briefing on important matters
ISLAMABAD: Anwaarul Haq Kakar became the 8th interim prime minister of Pakistan after taking oath of the office at the presidency on Monday.
Kakar, clad in a grey suit, was administered oath by President Arif Alvi at a ceremony held at the Aiwan-i-Sadr in Islamabad.
PM Kakar was presented guard of honour in a ceremony at the Prime Minister House here on Monday. A smartly turned out contingent of Pakistan’s armed forces presented the guard of honour. National anthem was also played on the occasion.
Outgoing Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif received the new prime minister on his arrival. The caretaker prime minister met the officers and staff of the Prime Minister House. Outgoing prime minister Shehbaz Sharif felicitated Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar on becoming caretaker PM and expressed his best wishes for him.
Earlier, outgoing prime minister was also given guard of honour. He reviewed the guard of honour as the contingents of the armed forces presented a salute to him. Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar bid farewell to the departing prime minister.
Kakar was announced as the interim premier on Saturday, following meetings between outgoing Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Opposition Leader Raja Riaz and several days of speculation about the probable choice for the post.
In a statement issued yesterday, the outgoing PM had expressed confidence that Kakar would ensure fair elections. He said the “trust reposed by all parties in Kakar’s name proves their proper choice as the upcoming caretaker PM is an educated person and a patriot”.
The ceremony was attended by outgoing Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, former National Assembly speaker Raja Pervaiz Ashraf, Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani, Sindh Governor Kamran Tessori, Punjab Governor Balighur Rehman, PTI Senator Shehbaz Waseem, PPP’s Faisal Karim Kundi and others.
Caretaker PM assumes office, seeks briefing from ministries
Later in the day, caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar here assumed his responsibilities after taking the oath of office. The PM sought briefing from all ministries on important matters.
It is worth mentioned here that Anwaarul Haq Kakar, who hails from Qilla Saifullah, was one of the original architects of the Balochistan Awami Party.
He is the second person from Balochistan to spearhead the interim set-up after Mir Hazar Khoso, who became the caretaker premier in 2013. His appointment comes with less than a year left in the completion of his six-year term in the Senate, which will conclude in March 2024.
Kakar made his electoral debut in 2008 on a PML-Q ticket, contesting polls in the NA-272 constituency, but lost to PPP candidate Nasir Ali Shah. Later, he joined the PML-N and served as then-CM Sanaullah Zehri’s spokesperson for almost three years.
In 2018, he “led” a no-trust vote against Zehri, which saw the PML-N chief minister step down from the post, paving the way for Abdul Qudus Bizenjo.
In the same year, he became a senator as an independent candidate. Soon after, he announced the formation of BAP with the help of Syed Saeed Ahmed Hashmi. At the time, the PML-N and Baloch and Pashtun nationalist parties had labelled the hastily-cobbled alliance of the province’s electables “a move of the establishment”.
Kakar country’s 8th caretaker PM since 1990
Anwar ul Haq Kakar has became 8th caretaker prime minister of Pakistan after he took oath of his office on Monday, the Independence Day of country.
According to details, the first caretaker prime minister of Pakistan was Ghulam Mustafa Jatoi who took over the office on August 06, 1990 and left after three months on November 06, 1990. He hailed from National Peoples Party and was appointed by then President Ghulam Ishaq Khan.
Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Balakh Sher Mazari appointed by then President took over office as 2nd caretaker prime minister on April 18, 1993, and held the office only for one month and eight days as Supreme Court overturned Presidential order and restored Nawaz Sharif’s government.
After Nawaz Sharif’s resignation in July 1993, Moeenuddin Ahmad Qureshi took over the charge as 3rd caretaker chief minister on July 18, 1993 and his continued till October 19, 1993 (3 months, 1 day).
After dismissal of PPP’s Benazir Bhutto’s government in November 1996, Malik Mehraj Khalid was appointed 4th caretaker prime minister. He took over the charge of office on November 05, 1996 and left on February 17, 1997 (three months, 12 days).
Muhammad Mian Soomro hailing from PML-Q took over as 5th caretaker prime minister of Pakistan on November 15, 2007 and continued till March 25, 2008 (4 months, 8 days).
The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) appointed Mir Hazar Khan Khoso as 6th caretaker prime minister who took over the office in March 24, 2013 and held the office till June 05, 2013 (2 months, 11 days).
Justice (Retd) Nasirul Mulk was appointed 7th caretaker prime minister after consensus between them PM Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and opposition leader Syed Khurshid Ahmed Shah on May 28, 2018. He took over the charge on May 31, 2018 and continued till August 18, 2018 (2 months, 18 days).
Now Anwar ul Haq Kakar of Balochistan Awami Party (BAP) has took over the charge 8th caretaker prime minister. His appointment was made in consensus of ex-MP Shehbaz Sharif and opposition leader Raja Riaz. President Dr. Arif Alvi took oath from him on August 14.
