When caretaker Prime Minister Anwarul Haq Kakar went to the Lahore University of Management Sciences, he did not expect to be grilled about why he arrived late. His explanation showed how he seemed to have misunderstood the role of a caretaker government. In fact, the holding of the interaction itself was something that should not have happened. If he was merely fulfilling an invitation which had been accepted by a predecessor, he should have sent his regrets. If he had received the invitation, he should have politely declined. He showed no sign of realizing it, but he had placed himself in an invidious position, and fully merited whatever happened to him, not that much did. It is not as if he had any pressing need to go to LUMS, not being an elected Prime Minster, or a party leader. He certainly did not use the occasion to make any announcement, as is sometimes done. As a matter of fact, whenever political leaders have had an interaction with students, it has usually been viewed poorly. Mr Kakar was clearly not well-advised to go.
Perhaps the key to his attitude can be seen in how he responded to the query about why he was late. He said that he was delayed by a Cabinet meeting, at which issues were discussed and decisions made with far-reaching and long-term implications. Mr Kakar did not seem to realize that a caretaker Cabinet should eschew decisions with long-term implications, and should be able to identify them so as not to take them, but defer them to an elected government. This applies to much of the caretaker government’s economic decision making, which would be best left to an elected government.
Mr Kakar seems to have lost the plot. Any desire to posture before university students aside, he did not make clear that the primary function of the caretaker government is to hold elections so that a government can emerge which has the support of the electorate. The Constitution envisages an interim period of 90 days, a deadline that has now been violated by two months at least. Mr Kakar and his team have kept away from commenting on this, and the constitutional mandate of the government is coming to an end without there being a date for fresh elections. A question about the lateness of elections would have perhaps between more relevant than one about Mr Kakar’s own lateness.
