US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Wednesday congratulated Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar and said that Washington would continue to support Pakistan’s efforts for economic prosperity.
“Congratulations to new Pakistan Interim Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar. As Pakistan prepares for free and fair elections, in accordance with its constitution and the rights of freedom of speech and assembly, we will continue to advance our shared commitment to economic prosperity,” Blinken said in a statement shared on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Blinken has recently been quite active in commenting on the developments in Pakistan as he previously also issued a statement after Pakistan managed to secure a standby agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
The US has said its ties with Pakistan centre on the democratic principles and rule of law and those would continue to guide the future cooperation between the two countries. Observers interpret this as an indication that the Biden administration wants no delay in the parliamentary elections in Pakistan. As per the Constitution, elections are supposed to take place within 90 days. However, there remains uncertainty among the populace regarding the timely occurrence of these elections.
One of the key factors which could lead to a delay is the new census results approved by the PDM government during its last week in office. The approval meant that elections will have to take place under the new census. For this purpose, the Election Commission of Pakistan will have to redraw the constituencies. The entire exercise may take up to four months. The former opposition leader in the National Assembly, Raja Riaz in one of the interviews claimed that polls will take place in February next year. Kakar was sworn in on Monday as the prime minister to head a caretaker government that will oversee parliamentary elections during the country’s most challenging period in the economic field.
