Pakistan: Balochistan Senator Anwar-Ul-Haq Kakar Becomes Caretaker Prime Minister

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's President Arif Alvi approved the appointment of Anwarul Haque Kakar as Caretaker Prime Minister for the country. On the social media account, X (formerly known as Twitter), the President's Office said that under Article 224 A of Pakistan's constitution, Alvi appointed Anwarul Haque Kakar as caretaker PM. 

"President Dr Arif Alvi has approved the appointment of Anwarul Haque Kakar as Caretaker Prime Minister The President approved the appointment under Article 224 A of the Constitution," the office said in a tweet. Earlier today, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and the leader of the Opposition Raja Riaz met and concluded their last round of talks and decided to make Senator Kakar as caretaker PM. 

Balochistan lawmaker, Kakar was elected to the Senate in 2018 and has also served as the spokesperson of the provincial government prior to his election to the upper house, as per Geo News.  The lawmaker was selected as the 8th interim head of the government, a statement from the Prime Minister's Office said Saturday.

Kakar and his party had good ties with the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) during its government and he was among the people who former prime minister Imran Khan consulted on the matters of Balochistan. For that reason, Balochistan Awami Party often faced criticism from PML-N for that reason. However, when the party changed sides, it faced criticism from PTI, reported Geo News.

The newly-appointed caretaker premier was born in 1971 in Muslim Bagh, an area of the Killa Saifullah district of Balochistan. He completed his schooling at St. Francis School, Quetta, and later enrolled in Cadet College Kohat but returned to the Balochistan provincial capital after his father's demise.
The senator has done a Master's in Political Science and Sociology from the University of Balochistan.

Senator Kakar started his career by teaching in a school in his native town, according to Geo News. He is also one of the founding members of BAP and was appointed as the central spokesperson of the party in 2018.