QUETTA: President Arif Alvi has appointed Balo­c­histan National Party (BNP-Mengal) leader Malik Abdul Wali Khan Kakar as the new governor of Balochistan, says an official notification issued here on Friday.

The notification said that the President made the appointment of the governor on the advice of the prime minister in accordance with Articles 48(1) and 101 of the Constitution.

The new governor of Balochsitan will be administered the oath of his office by Balochistan High Court Chief Justice Naeem Akhtar Afghan on Saturday afternoon at the Governor House.

Former governor Syed Zahoor Ahmed Agha resigned in April last year after the PTI government was removed through a no-confidence motion tabled by the Pakistan Democra­tic Movement and its allied parties.

Balochistan Assembly Speaker Mir Jan Muham­mad Khan Jamali had been performing duties of the office of the governor as the acting governor for the last 10 months.

Mr Kakar is the son of Malik Abdul Ali Kakar, who was a senior leader of defunct National Awami Party of Balochistan.

Born in 1956, Mr Kakar is affiliated with the Balo­chistan National Party (BNP-Mengal). He was ele­cted the senior vice president of the party twice.

He did his master’s in Socio­logy from the University of Balochistan and started his political career from Push­toon Students Organisation and remained in prison for five years during the mar­tial law of Ziaul Haq for taking part in student politics.

He remained in the Pakistan National Party of Mir Ghous Bakhsh Bizenjo along with his father for some time and later joined the Balochistan National Party when Sardar Ataullah Mengal formed his party.

Published in Dawn, March 4th, 2023