A rather unknown senator from Pakistan’s least populous province was named the country’s interim prime minister on Saturday, pending elections in several months.
Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar, 52, from the southwestern province of Balochistan, was chosen by the outgoing coalition government to lead the country in the throes of a political crisis, since Imran Khan was ousted from his post as Prime Minister in April 2022.
“We first agreed that whoever the prime minister is, he should be from a smaller province, so that the claims of smaller provinces are dealt with,” the opposition leader said on Saturday. Pakistani, Raja Riaz Ahmad, after a meeting with the outgoing Prime Minister, Shehbaz Sharif.
The interim prime minister will lead Pakistan until the next general and provincial elections scheduled for November. Some officials have nevertheless already announced that they will be postponed until next year.
Mr. Kakar “has a limited political career and does not weigh heavily in Pakistani politics,” said political analyst Hasan Askari Rizvi, interviewed by AFP.
“This may be an advantage as he does not have a strong affiliation with the main political parties, but ‘the downside’, according to the analyst, ‘is that he might find it difficult to deal with issues it will face, without the active support of the military establishment”.
The political climate has been particularly tense in Pakistan since Imran Khan was ousted from power and led an unprecedented campaign against the powerful military institution. Last weekend, the septuagenarian was sentenced for corruption to three years in prison and imprisoned.
Imran Khan, who is barred from running for office for five years, has appealed his sentence and conviction.
In recent months, authorities have cracked down hard on Mr Khan’s party, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI). Deadly clashes erupted in May between his supporters demonstrating by the thousands in the street and the police. Almost all of the PTI leaders had been arrested or forced into hiding.
Having taken courses at the National Defense University – formerly the army war school -, Mr. Kakar would be close to the military institution, according to analyst Ayesha Sidiqqa. “It seems the establishment has struck a blow and found someone who will look out for their interests rather than those of the politicians,” she said.
On Wednesday, parliament was officially dissolved and elections must be held within 90 days, according to the constitution, but the release last weekend of the latest census data could delay them.
The government has indicated that the electoral commission needs time to redraw electoral boundaries, although the electoral commission has not commented directly.
Asked on television whether a vote would take place this year, Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah replied “no”.
Last month parliament hastily passed a law giving the caretaker government more power to negotiate with international bodies such as the International Monetary Fund. An additional clue suggesting that it could remain in place for a while.
Some analysts believe the delay could buy time for the main coalition partners, namely the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), to hone a strategy against Mr Khan’s party. .
“Delaying the election could simply further anger the public and galvanize an opposition that has already suffered months of repression,” said Michael Kugelman, director of the South Asia Institute at the Wilson Center.
The United States said on Wednesday it was following the situation in Pakistan with concern, fearing that violence could break out in the run-up to the elections.
In Pakistan, behind every election is the military, which has staged at least three successful coups since the country was forged from the partition of India in 1947.
Mr Khan enjoyed genuine popular support when he came to power in 2018, but analysts believe it was only with the blessing of the country’s powerful generals, with whom he reportedly fell out within months that preceded his ouster.
12/08/2023 15:14:17 – Islamabad (AFP) – © 2023 AFP
