Professor Dr Hasan Askari Rizvi took oath as the Punjab caretaker chief minister in a ceremony held in Lahore on Friday.

Governor Punjab Rafique Rajwana administered oath to Dr Askari, whose name for the provincial caretaker role was finalised by the Election Commission of Pakistan.

Dr Askari is a renowned political scientist and military analyst, currently working as professor emeritus of political science at the Punjab University.

A former visiting professor of Pakistan Studies at the Columbia University from 1996 to 1999, Prof Askari has also served as Allama Iqbal Professor at Heidelberg University, Germany, from 1988 to 1991.

He has a number of publications, including more than 1,800 op-eds and comment pieces in domestic and international newspapers and magazines and has spent over 35 years teaching and supervising research at the post-graduate level. The books include ‘Military, State and Society in Pakistan’ and ‘The military and Politics in Pakistan: 1947 – 1997’.

The oath-taking ceremony of Balochistan caretaker CM Alauddin Marri is scheduled to take place at 5pm today.