Senior Senator Anwar ul Haq Kakar, who has been appointed as the new caretaker prime minister of Pakistan, is a political heavyweight from Balochistan.
He will be taking the government’s reins at a time when the country is struggling in the face of political and economic crises.
Kakar as the eighth caretaker prime minister of Pakistan came as a surprise, given his relatively low-profile and unexpected candidacy for the role.
He was named that interim PM as talks on the matter concluded between outgoing Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Raja Riaz, who ceased to be the opposition leader in the National Assembly following Kakar’s selection.
Kakar and his cabinet will run the government until a national election is held and the winner can secure a parliamentary majority and select a new prime minister.
The incoming caretaker government’s responsibilities will also include assisting the Election Commission of Pakistan in holding general elections according to the law.
He is the second person from Balochistan to assume the role of the country’s interim prime minister, the first being Justice (retd) Mir Hazar Khan Khoso.
His appointment comes with less than a year left in the completion of his six-year term in the Senate that will conclude in March 2024.
Kakar was elected to the Senate in 2018 and has been a very active politician. He has also served as the spokesperson of the provincial government prior to his election to the upper house.
“Though he has been involved in politics, Kakar is widely regarded as a great intellectual in the country,” senior anchorperson Hamid Mir told Geo News.
Mir said that the BAP lawmaker belonged to the Kakar tribe of Pashtun ethnicity, so he represents both Pashtuns and Balochs.
“The senator also enjoys good ties with the mainstream political parties including PML-N and PPP.”
In 2008, Kakar contested the National Assembly election from Quetta on the ticket of Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid.
He holds a Master’s degree in Political Science, Sociology and is an alumnus of the University of Balochistan.
Anwaar-ul-Haq was born in 1971 in Muslim Bagh, an area of Killa Saifullah district of Balochistan.
He received his primary education from 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.
He is also one of the founding members of BAP and was appointed as the central spokesperson of the party in 2018.
The caretaker PM- is also the chairman of Senate Standing Committee on Overseas Pakistanis.
He contested the election for the National Assembly seat from Quetta on PML-Q ticket in 2008.