UNITED NATIONS (AP) 鈥 Pakistan鈥檚 interim prime minister said he expects parliamentary elections to take place in the new year, dismissing the possibility that the country鈥檚 powerful military would manipulate the results to ensure that jailed former premier Imran Khan鈥檚 party doesn鈥檛 win as 鈥渁bsolutely absurd.鈥
Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar said it鈥檚 the Election Commission that is going to conduct the vote, not the military, and Khan appointed the commission鈥檚 current chief, so 鈥渨hy would he turn in any sense of the word against him?鈥
In a wide-ranging interview with The Associated Press on Friday, Kakar also lashed out at India for touting itself as the world鈥檚 largest democracy while refusing to hold a democratic referendum in disputed Kashmir so its people can decide their future. And he said leaders in the region are discussing holding a forum to consider what changes Afghanistan鈥檚 Taliban rulers would need to make before any country takes 鈥渁 huge step鈥 and recognizes their government.
Pakistan has been in deepening political turmoil since April 2022 when Khan was removed from office following . He was arrested in early August on corruption charges and sentenced to three years in prison, though he still remains in jail. The country is also facing one of the worst economic crises in its history and recovering from last summer鈥檚 devastating floods that killed at least 1,700 people and destroyed millions of homes and farmland.
The commission announced Thursday that the elections would take place during the last week in January, delaying the vote which was to be held in November under the constitution.
Kakar resigned as a senator last month after and opposition leader Raza Riaz chose him as caretaker prime minister to oversee the elections and run the day-to-day affairs until a new government is elected.
He said that when the commission sets an exact election date, his government 鈥渨ill provide all the assistance, financial, security or other related requirements.鈥
Asked whether he would recommend that judges overturn Khan鈥檚 conviction so he could run in the elections, the prime minister said he wouldn't interfere with decisions by the judiciary. He stressed that the judiciary should not be used 鈥渁s a tool for any political ends.鈥
鈥淲e are not pursuing anyone on a personal vendetta,鈥 Kakar said. 鈥淏ut yes, we will ensure that the law is appropriate. Anyone, be it Imran Khan or any other politician who violates, in terms of their political behavior, the laws of the country, then the restoration of the law has to be ensured. We cannot equate that with 鈥 political discrimination.鈥
He said fair elections can take place without Khan or hundreds of members of his party who are jailed because they engaged in unlawful activities including vandalism and arson, a following Khan's initial arrest in May. Kakar added that the thousands of people in Khan's party who didn't engage in unlawful activities, 鈥渨ill be running the political process, they will be participating in the elections.鈥
The Pakistani military has been behind the rise and fall of governments, with some of Khan鈥檚 supporters suggesting there is de facto military rule in Pakistan and that democracy is under threat.
Kakar, who reportedly has close ties to the military, said those allegations are 鈥減art and parcel of our political culture," to which he pays no attention. He called his government鈥檚 working relationship with the military 鈥渧ery smooth,鈥 as well as 鈥渧ery open and candid.鈥
"We do have challenges of civil-military relationships, I鈥檓 not denying that,鈥 he said, but there are very different reasons for the imbalance. He said he believes, after one month leading the government, that civil institutions in Pakistan have 鈥渄eteriorated in terms of performance for the last many decades鈥 while the military is disciplined, has organizational capabilities and has improved over the past four decades.
The solution, Kakar said, is to gradually improve the performance of the civilian institutions 鈥渞ather than weakening the current military organization, because that鈥檚 not going to solve any of our problems.鈥
One major problem is Kashmir, which has been a flashpoint for India and Pakistan since . They have fought two wars over its control.
In 2019, India鈥檚 Hindu nationalist government decided to end the Muslim-majority region鈥檚 semi-autonomy, stripping it of statehood, its separate constitution and inherited protections on land and jobs.
Kakar said India has sent 900,000 troops to Kashmir and its people are living in 鈥渁 large imprisonment鈥 with no political rights, in violation of the United Nations Charter鈥檚 right to self-determination and the resolution calling for a U.N. referendum.
While the world focuses on Ukraine, he said, Kashmir 鈥渋s a crisis which primarily has a wrong geography.鈥
If Kashmir were in Europe or North America, would there still be what he called a 鈥渃allous attitude鈥 toward resolving it, he asked.
鈥淭he most important player in this dispute is the Kashmir people," Kakar said. 鈥淚t is neither India or Pakistan,鈥 but the Kashmiri people who "have to decide about their identity" and their future.
India boasts of being the largest democracy, he said, but it "is denying the basic, democratic principle to have a plebiscite. ... So what sort of a democracy they are boasting about?鈥
As for Pakistan鈥檚 relations with neighboring Afghanistan 鈥 which returned to Taliban rule in 鈥 Kakar said 鈥渢here are some serious security challenges鈥 from the Afghan side, pointing to the , or TTP, the Islamic State and other extremist groups, who at times vie for influence with each other.
When asked whether the government had requested the Taliban to extradite the leadership and fighters from the TTP, he said they are in contact with authorities in Kabul, "but there is nothing specific which I can share with you.鈥
The international community has withheld recognition of the Taliban-led government in Afghanistan.
Kakar said a meeting of regional leaders to discuss what incentives and changes of behavior the Taliban would need to make for recognition to be considered hasn鈥檛 been finalized, but 鈥淚 think we鈥檙e heading toward that milestone.鈥
He said the regional forum should try to find a unified approach, then try to get broader consensus and convey it to the Taliban.
Kakar was a little-known first-time senator from Pakistan's least-populated, least-developed province, Baluchistan, when he was tapped to be the caretaker prime minister.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a huge privilege,鈥 he said. 鈥淚'm humbled. I feel I never deserved it. It鈥檚 just a divine blessing.鈥
By law, he can鈥檛 contest the elections when he鈥檚 interim prime minister, but Kakar said in the future he hopes 鈥渢o play a constructive political role in my society.鈥
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Edith M. Lederer, chief U.N. correspondent for The Associated Press, has been covering international affairs for more than 50 years.
