On Monday, students in LAHORE bombarded Interim Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar with tough questions as he tried to deal with the unanticipated crisis.
The event, which was supposed to be a safe space for open discussion, devolved into a difficult interrogation when the students began repeatedly and pointedly questioning him. One girl even said, “Why did you feel the need to come and address amid declining economy?”
Kakar urged the students at Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS) to take risks and try new things when planning their futures; he quickly learned this lesson the hard way when students at LUMS did not shy away from discussing controversial topics, putting him on the defensive as he fumbled for answers.
For the election results that have become synonymous with fraud, the premier presented the “feeble explanation” that “Pakistan’s democracy was in the transitional period.” This was widely panned by commentators and social media users alike.
He went on to say that PTI didn’t take a pro-democratic stance until after Imran Khan was deposed, referencing the controversial 2021 Senate elections in which seven votes apparently cast in favor of the PDM’s joint candidate, Yousuf Raza Gilani, were rejected.
Put aside the question of guilt regarding the Senate vote tally’s outcome… Each and every one of us is aware of who committed this crime. ”I was involved, too,” he confessed. To paraphrase one analyst, “it [Pakistan’s democracy] had not been a settled one like that of a European country where the democratic system had taken shape.”
To get where they’re going, the prime minister added, clear values need be established that go beyond politics.
Some students were also upset with PM Kakar for being late, claiming that this demonstrated his contempt for education and the importance of students’ time.
In the widely shared video of the exchange, onlookers congratulate the students for asking the premier critical questions without fear of retaliation.
Meanwhile, social media rapidly picked up on the encounter, with video of the confrontation going viral on sites like ‘X’ and bringing the young minds of LUMS into the limelight.
One commenter gave credit to Imran Khan, the leader of the PTI and a former prime minister, for the pupils’ bravery. “IK has indeed given the Pakistani nation the confidence and courage to speak up, stand with constitution, rule of law, and today Pakistanis stand firm with his ideology,” she said.
One ‘X’ user made a facetious take on the temporary prime minister’s rationale for rigged elections, writing, “The caretaker Prime Minister to LUMS students: elections are always manipulated, fixed, or controlled.” Don’t make a big deal out of the fact that one side sometimes comes out ahead and the other doesn’t.
The Prime Minister addressed the issue of the delayed elections in Punjab and K-P by citing Article 254 of the Constitution, which states that the delay or failure to comply with a legal requirement as to time does not render an act invalid or unconstitutional simply because it occurred late.
After the former house leader and opposition leader from the previous National Assembly adopted a constitutional procedure and agreed upon his nomination, he declared the caretaker government was the result of a constitutional order.
He explained that the law requiring the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to set an election date had been passed by the outgoing parliament.
He stated, “It is the mandate of the ECP and not of the Caretaker Prime Minister to set a date for the general elections,” and that if he were authorized to do so by the constitution, he would have offered the same.
The caretaker administration, according to PM Kakar, will provide funds and security to the ECP to ensure a peaceful transition of power.
Return of Afghan Citizens
In response to a question about a recent incident involving Afghan citizens, the caretaker prime minister said he had previously instructed the appropriate authorities within the Afghan Ministry of the Interior to protect the privacy and safety of any returning women and children.
The prime minister of Pakistan likened the treatment of Afghan refugees to that of migrants on boats in the Mediterranean Sea, claiming that Pakistan has hosted them on its soil for decades.
