Metropolis Desk-
Following a meeting between outgoing prime minister Shehbaz Sharif and opposition leader Raja Riaz Ahmad, the prime minister’s office has announced that Pakistani senator Anwar-ul-Haq Kakar has been appointed interim prime minister to oversee national elections.
In a statement, they stated that “the prime minister [Sharif] and leader of the opposition have jointly signed the advice which will be sent to the president for approval.”
The least populated province of Pakistan’s Senate, Balochistan, will lead an interim administration till the next election.
“We first agreed that whoever should be prime minister, he should be from a smaller province so that smaller provinces’ grievances should be addressed,” Riaz remarked following a meeting with Sharif.
Kakar is listed by the Senate as an independent politician, although local media claims that he is a member of the Balochistan Awami Party, which is commonly seen as having ties to the country’s potent military.
Pakistan’s parliament was dissolved on Wednesday and by law, an election should be held within 90 days, but the results of the latest census released last week means more time will likely be needed to redraw constituencies.
Numerous federal and provincial constituencies require new boundaries, and the Election Commission will set an election date based on those boundaries.
The former prime minister Imran Khan, who was found guilty of corruption last weekend and given a three-year prison sentence, won’t likely participate in the ballot. He has said he did nothing wrong.
The interim administration assumes control of a nation that has seen political unrest ever since Khan was ousted by a no-confidence vote in April 2022, as well as converging economic and security concerns.
Following Khan’s brief detention in May, tens of thousands of his protestors flooded the streets and attacked government and military facilities.
Some of the protestors are currently undergoing trial in contentious military tribunals.
Many of Khan’s party leaders have resigned as a result of claimed military establishment coercion, while his speeches and press conferences are prohibited from appearing in mainstream media.
The former prime minister earlier stated that he had “no doubt” that he would be detained prior to the general election and has frequently accused Pakistan’s ruthless military and its intelligence agency of actively attempting to destroy his political party, Tehreek-e-Insaf.
The military is still playing a significant role in Pakistan’s political system. It has been in existence for 76 years and has held direct control over the nation for more than three decades.
A protracted period without an elected government, according to political commentators, would give the military time to strengthen its hold if the caretaker setup continues past its constitutionally mandated term.
Source- Al-Jazeera
