The farewell guard of honour of Shehbaz has been postponed till August 14, they added. It was scheduled to take place on Sunday.

Meanwhile, nominated caretaker prime minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar is scheduled to take the oath of office on August 14 afternoon.

President Arif Alvi signed a summary for the appointment of Anwaarul Haq Kakar as the caretaker prime minister of Pakistan on Saturday after the outgoing premier and the leader of the opposition agreed on Kakar’s name on the final day of the three-day consultation period.

Shehbaz-led coalition government came to power after the ouster of the-then prime minister Imran Khan via a vote of no-confidence.

The previous government during its tenure kept on blaming its predecessor for the economic issues. Many of its leaders accused the PTI government of laying “landmines” by announcing a fuel subsidy which was against the agreement signed with the International Monetary Fund.

Shehbaz congratulates Kakar

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in a statement congratulated Kakar on his appointment as caretaker PM and expressed confidence that he would ensure the holding of free, fair and impartial elections in the country.

The prime minister said that trust reposed by all parties in Kakar’s name “proved their proper choice” as the upcoming caretaker PM was an “educated person and patriot”.

He said that under a constitutional process, they agreed upon the name of a suitable person and thanked the former leader of the opposition in the National Assembly Raja Riaz for holding a consultation in this regard.

During the last 16 months, they had struggled to bring economic stability to the country, he said hoping that the continuity of such a process would be maintained.

The prime minister said that “ensuring progress, prosperity and economic stability were critical for the progress and development of the nation.”

He also prayed for the success of his caretaker successor and the upcoming caretaker setup.