Pakistan senator picked as caretaker PM to oversee elections

KARACHI: Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and opposition leader Raja Riaz agreed on Saturday to name Senator Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar as caretaker premier to oversee elections, the Prime Minister's office said.

Kakar, a lesser known politician from the southwestern province of Balochistan, will name a cabinet and head a government to steer the nuclear-armed nation through an economic and political crises until a new government is elected.

"The prime minister (Sharif) and leader of opposition have jointly signed the advice which will be sent to the president for approval," the statement said.

Pakistan's Geo News said President Arif Alvi approved Kakar's appointment.

Under Pakistan's constitution, a neutral caretaker government oversees national elections, which must be held within 90 days of the dissolution of the parliament's lower house - which in this instance means early November.

The choice of caretaker prime minister has assumed heightened importance this time because the candidate will have extra powers to make policy decisions on economic matters, and amid fears the elections may be delayed by as much as six months.

The Election Commission has to draw new boundaries for hundreds of federal and provincial constituencies and, based on that, it will give an election date.