Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar has said that he was ‘not apologetic’ about being the military’s pick for the interim setup that would oversee the elections in January 2024.

“I’m not being apologetic. I’m not trying to create the impression otherwise,” he said in an interview with Zeinab Badawi of BBC News’ show HARDtalk. A clip from the interview was shared on X, erstwhile Twitter, on Saturday.

Kakar was responding to a follow-up question about whether he was the military’s choice to run the country until the postponed elections take place.

“I am just trying to illustrate the reasons that why do people think that way.”

“In my opinion, the issue is that the civil institutions, when they are assigned to deliver on account of the governance they fail and they have deteriorated their capacity in the last four or five decades. And by design or default, on the other hand, the military as an organisation has gained strength. So whenever a challenge occurs on account of the governance the government has to rely on the military.”

When asked about whether he was saying that the military was very strong in Pakistan but with justifiable reasons as the civilians, according to him, were not up to it, basically, Kakar said: “Well pragmatically of course yes. That’s what exactly I’m saying.”

This is not the first time Kakar has answered such questions.

“I am their man or every one of us has been their man or not, I don’t get in this judgement or discourse because I think this is the most irrelevant aspect of our politics,” he said in an interview with Asma Shirazi in her show Faisla Aap Ka on Aaj News while responding to a question about his rivals who claimed he was close to the military and the current government was a “hybrid regime”.

Kakar used the term “love and hate relationship” to describe the politicians’ desire to be associated with the establishment. He was of the view that such a cycle continues.

In an interview with Aaj News programme Spot Light with Munizae Jagangir, the interim prime minister lauded the army chief’s role in the crackdown on illegal money exchangers.

He had dismissed the merit of criticism on the involvement of the COAS in anti-smuggling efforts and improving the economy, saying that it was not a contest of who was more effective. Kakar supported his argument by saying that the whole of a government approach was an important help.