Pakistan appoints caretaker cabinet ahead of elections
The caretaker cabinet claims that its first priority will be to guide the country toward economic stabilization.
After President Arif Alvi, acting on the advice of outgoing Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, dissolved parliament last week, interim Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar -- a little-known politician who is thought to be close to the military -- was sworn in on Monday.
Today, Thursday, Pakistan swore in a caretaker government led by Kakar, tasked with governing the nation until new elections, which may not take place until after November due to the need to redraw constituency lines.
Political observers claim that if the caretaker government remains in place for longer than is required by the constitution, the military, which has had direct control over the nation for more than three decades of its 76-year history, will be able to entrench its power.
With Pakistan's $350 billion economy traveling a narrow recovery path following a last-minute $3 billion bailout arrangement from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), preventing a sovereign debt default with several conditions imposed on the country, the caretaker cabinet claims that its first priority will be to guide the country toward economic stabilization.
According to state television, the election commission declared on Thursday that new districts based on the most recent census would be approved by December 14. A date for the election will then be confirmed by the commission.
The nationwide election may be delayed by several months, maybe until February, according to electoral experts. In accordance with the constitution, elections must be held within 90 days after the official dissolution of parliament last week.
According to the new communications minister Murtaza Solangi, the former head of the central bank, Shamshad Akhtar, has been nominated finance minister in the temporary government and Jalil Abbas Jilani, a former Pakistani ambassador to the United States, has been chosen as foreign minister.
The economy continues to be the biggest obstacle for the interim administration and its successor. Inflation and interest rates are at historic highs as a result of recent economic reforms, placing pressure on regular people and businesses.
Imran Khan is currently imprisoned and barred from running for office for five years, while Kakar, 52, takes over the leadership of a nation that has been plagued by political and economic upheaval for months.
Since Khan was ousted as Prime Minister following a no-confidence vote in April 2022, the nation has seen political unrest, which culminated in his three-year graft prison sentence this weekend.
Although he has been barred from holding public office for five years, he is appealing his conviction and punishment.
In recent months, authorities have taken a tough stance against Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, crushing his grassroots power by rounding up thousands of his supporters and officials.