Anwaarul Haq Kakar takes oath as eighth caretaker prime minister

Anwaarul Haq Kakar has taken the oath as the eighth caretaker Prime Minister of Pakistan, reported 24NewsHD TV channel on Monday.

President Dr Arif Alvi administered the oath to the caretaker prime minister. The oath-taking ceremony was held at the President’s House.

Former prime minister Shehbaz Sharif, Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Asim Munir, and Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee General Nadeem Raza attended the swearing-in ceremony.

Prominent among others who attended the ceremony were former National Assembly speaker Raja Pervaiz Ashraf, Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani, Sindh Governor Kamran Tessori, Punjab Governor Balighur Rehman, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Haji Ghulam Ali, PTI Senator Shahzad Waseem and PPP leader Faisal Karim Kundi.

After taking the oath, Kakar also met officials of the armed forces and shook hands with them.

His first task now as the interim premier will be to choose a cabinet to run the country as it heads into an election period.

Earlier, in view of his new assignment, Kakar resigned from his Senate seat, and Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani accepted the resignation and declared the seat vacant.

The former senator took to the X platform (formerly known as Twitter) on Sunday to announce his decision.

https://twitter.com/anwaar_kakar/status/1690743484876283905

In a statement issued yesterday, former prime minister Shehbaz Sharif 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”.

Kakar, who started his political career in 2008, received his primary education from St. Francis School, Quetta and was later enrolled in the Cadet College Kohat.

He did a Master's in political science and sociology from the University of Balochistan. Initially, he taught at a school in his native town.

He belongs to the Kakar tribe of Pashtuns who are primarily scattered across north Balochistan.

Besides political activism, Kakar has also remained associated with various think-tanks formulating Pakistan's foreign policy.

Kakar is a keen observer of geo-political situation in South Asia, especially Afghanistan-Pakistan relations.

He is also on the visiting faculty of Command and Staff College, Quetta and National Defence University, Islamabad where Kakar delivers lectures on International Relations.

Kakar is fluent in Pashto, Urdu, Persian, English, Balochi, and Brahvi.

Kakar was elected to the Senate as an independent candidate on a general seat from Balochistan in the general elections of 2018.

He took oath as senator on March 12, 2018.^[] 

He also remained Chairperson for the Committee of Overseas Pakistanis and Human Resource Development and members of other committees, including Business Advisory Committee, Finance and Revenue, Foreign Affairs, Science and Technology. 

He co-launched a new political party Balochistan Awami Party (BAP).

He was nominated for the seat of caretaker Prime Minister of Pakistan by the outgoing opposition leader and the outgoing Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.

The appointment made by both of them was immediately ratified by President Arif Alvi who signed the summary making him the Caretaker Prime Minister of Pakistan.

  

Reporter: Usman Khan