Pakistan’s new PM Kakar sworn in until next election vows to ‘preserve the Islamic ideology’
- Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar was sworn in on the country’s Independence Day on Monday afternoon in a ceremony carried live on TV
- He takes charge of a country wracked by political and economic instability, with Imran Khan – Pakistan’s most popular politician – in jail
Little-known senator Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar was sworn in Monday as Pakistan’s caretaker prime minister to see the country through to an election due in months.
“I will strive to preserve the Islamic ideology which is the basis for the creation of Pakistan … I will not allow my personal interest to influence my official conduct or my official decisions,” the 52-year-old said in a ceremony broadcast live on television.
Kakar, 52, takes charge of a country that has been wracked by political and economic instability for months, with Imran Khan – Pakistan’s most popular politician – in jail and disqualified from elections for five years.
He was sworn in on the country’s Independence Day on Monday afternoon in a ceremony carried live on TV.
“I have confidence in the caretaker prime minister’s ability to conduct free and fair elections,” outgoing prime minister Shehbaz Sharif said in a farewell address to the nation late on Sunday.
Kakar’s first task will be to choose a cabinet to run the country as it heads into an election period that could last for months.