Pakistan named Anwarul Haq Kakar to be the caretaker Prime Minister and oversee the general elections on Saturday.

“Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and leader of the opposition in the National Assembly, Raja Riaz Ahmad, have finalised the name of caretaker prime minister,” said a statement issued by Mr Sharif’s office.

The two leaders had held several meetings to choose a neutral individual who could steer the country towards elections.

A summary, signed by the two leaders for formal approval and announcement, has been sent to the president.

Mr Kakar hails from the country’s most volatile province, Balochistan, and is currently serving as a senator.

President Arif Alvi dissolved the 15th National Assembly on Thursday, marking the end of the legislature’s five-year term.

It was the third consecutive assembly that completed its term, a feat that no prime minister had achieved in the country’s more than 75-year history.

General elections were supposed to be held within 90 days of the dissolution of assemblies.

Elections in Pakistan, a Muslim-majority nuclear power with a population of more than 240 million and a fragile democracy, were always mired by controversy and allegations of vote-rigging.

(dpa/NAN)