Shehbaz congratulates interim-PM designate; Mengal says decision creates ‘further distance’ between PML-N, BNP-M
Islamabad
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Sunday congratulated interim PM-designate Anwaarul Haq Kakar on his appointment and expressed confidence that he would hold a free, fair and impartial election in the country.
Shehbaz said that the trust placed by all parties in Kakar’s name proved that he was the “proper choice” as the caretaker PM was an “educated person and patriot”.
Senator Kakar was named interim PM on August 12 (Saturday) after the National Assembly was dissolved on August 9, three days shy of completing its five-year term.
Associated with the Balochistan Awami Party (BAP) and formerly Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q), Kakar was nominated by Shehbaz and dissident Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Raja Riaz, who was elected on the NA-110 Faisalabad seat in 2018 against PML-N’s Rana Ehsan Afzal’s father Rana Afzal Khan, after three days of deliberation.
A summary was sent to President Arif Alvi, who approved it under Article 224-1A of the Constitution of Pakistan.
Kakar is to be sworn in as caretaker prime minister on August 14 – Independence Day.
Shehbaz said that the name of a “suitable person” was agreed upon as in line with the Constitution, which calls for a consensus between the outgoing premier and opposition leader, according to a statement by the Prime Minister’s Office.
BAP is widely perceived as the brainchild of the establishment.
Sources within the country’s political leadership expressed surprise at the nominated name, which had been kept under wraps amid growing speculation over who the caretaker premier might be.
In March 2018, little-known BAP leader Sadiq Sanjrani was elected Senate chairperson defeating PML-N candidate Raja Zafarul Haq.
Congratulating Kakar on his appointment, Shehbaz said his government had struggled to bring economic stability in the country these past 16 months. He hoped the process they initiated would continue in the coming months.
Ensuring progress, prosperity and economic stability is critical for the progress and development of the nation, said Shehbaz, extending prayers for the caretaker setup.
The upcoming general elections are expected to be held coming November, a month past the 90-day time frame stipulated by the Constitution after the dissolution of assemblies.
‘Consensus’
Where Shehbaz emphasised on the consensus reached between him and the outgoing opposition leader, lawmakers hailing from different political parties allied with the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government under the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) banner have said they were taken by surprise.
Several have welcomed the appointment of Kakar, whose name evaded speculation from those looking at the three mainstream political parties PML-N, PTI, and the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) for a potential candidate.
The appointment deepened the rift between the PML-N and the Balochistan National Party-Mengal (BNP-M), whose chief Sardar Akhtar Mengal took two Twitter on August 13 (Sunday) to pen a letter to the PMN-L supremo Nawaz Sharif lamenting actions of politicians seeking establishment’s support for the resolution of every problem in the country.
Citing a previous letter sent to Sharif on July 22, 2023, Mengal said that he had hoped that issues would have lessened by now but they appear to have increased.
He regretted that political consultations were not held with the allied parties and it was the establishment’s consultation that was relied on.
“Mian Sahib, what has befallen us might be our fate, but what’s surprising is that you people, after facing hardships, haven’t learned any lessons. We remember the atrocities from General Ayub to General Musharraf. But your party forgets the conspiracies and unconstitutional actions of Musharraf and Bajwa too quickly. Once again, you’re weakening democratic institutions by legislating in the dark without involving allies, thereby strengthening undemocratic powers,” he wrote referring to the state of Balochistan.
“Legislation contrary to human rights will probably be used against you in the future, [we know] because we, the residents of Balochistan, have not been considered as human beings since day one,” he said, pointing to laws and amendments hurriedly past in parliament in recent days.
He referred to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and wondered what benefit lay in it for the people of Balochistan.
