What is a caretaker government and when is one appointed?

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A caretaker government is a temporary, unelected administration that takes over when an assembly is dissolved and stays until the next elected government is sworn in. Its job is to keep the state running and to help the Election Commission hold the election. It is not meant to govern as an elected cabinet would.

Pakistan’s Constitution requires one at the federal level whenever the National Assembly is dissolved, and in a province whenever its assembly is dissolved. The rules are in Articles 48, 224 and 224A of the Constitution and in section 230 of the Elections Act, 2017.

When a caretaker government is appointed

Article 224 says a caretaker Cabinet is to be appointed when the National Assembly is dissolved, whether because its five-year term has ended or because it was dissolved early under Article 58, which normally happens on the Prime Minister’s advice. Article 48 places the same duty on the President whenever he dissolves the Assembly.

A change of prime minister alone does not trigger it. If a Prime Minister resigns or loses a vote of no confidence, the sitting National Assembly elects a successor and no caretaker is needed.

The same system applies in the provinces, where the Governor appoints a caretaker Chief Minister and Cabinet (Articles 105 and 224).

How the caretaker Prime Minister is chosen

The Constitution sets out a sequence with fixed deadlines.

1. The two leaders. The President appoints the caretaker Prime Minister in consultation with the outgoing Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition in the outgoing National Assembly (Article 224).
2. A parliamentary committee. If the two do not agree within three days of the dissolution, each forwards two names to a committee set up by the Speaker. It has eight members drawn from the outgoing Assembly, the Senate or both, with equal numbers from the government and opposition sides (Article 224A).
3. Three days to decide. The committee must settle on a name within three days.
4. The Election Commission. If the committee cannot decide, the names go to the Election Commission of Pakistan, which makes the final decision within two days.

Until the caretaker is appointed, the outgoing Prime Minister stays in office. Caretaker ministers are then appointed on the caretaker Prime Minister’s advice.

In a province the steps are the same, with the Chief Minister, the provincial Leader of the Opposition and a six-member committee.

The amendment notes in the official text of the Constitution show that these provisions were added by the Eighteenth Amendment in 2010 and the Twentieth Amendment in 2012.

What a caretaker government can and cannot do

Section 230 of the Elections Act, 2017 says a caretaker government shall:

• attend to the day-to-day matters needed to run the government;
• assist the Election Commission in holding elections in accordance with the law;
• restrict itself to routine, non-controversial and urgent activities that a future elected government could reverse; and
• be impartial to every person and political party.

The same section says it shall not:

• take major policy decisions, except on urgent matters;
• take decisions that pre-empt the authority of the future elected government;
• enter into a major contract that is detrimental to the public interest;
• enter into major international negotiations or sign a binding international instrument, except in an exceptional case;
• make promotions or major appointments, other than acting or short-term ones;
• transfer public officials unless it is expedient and the Commission approves; or
• attempt to influence the elections.

An amendment dated 5 August 2023 added an exception. Those requirements do not apply to actions or decisions on existing bilateral or multilateral agreements, or on projects already initiated under three named laws covering public-private partnerships, inter-governmental commercial transactions and privatisation.

Two further rules protect neutrality. Members of a caretaker Cabinet, and their spouses and children, cannot contest the election that immediately follows (Article 224). And each member must file a statement of assets and liabilities with the Election Commission within three days of taking office (section 230).

How long a caretaker government lasts

The Constitution does not give caretakers a term of their own. It ties them to the election timetable in Article 224.

• If the Assembly completes its term, the general election must be held within 60 days after the term expires.
• If the Assembly is dissolved early, the election must be held within 90 days of the dissolution, and the results declared within 14 days of polling.
• The new National Assembly meets on the 21st day after the election, unless the President summons it sooner (Article 91). It then elects a Speaker and a Prime Minister.

The caretaker government’s role ends when the newly elected Prime Minister takes office.

Caretaker governments in practice

2013. The Peninsula newspaper reported on 25 March 2013 that the parliamentary committee had failed to reach a consensus and that the Election Commission chose a retired judge, Mir Hazar Khan Khoso, the previous day.

2018. Dawn reported that the outgoing Prime Minister, Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, and the Leader of the Opposition, Khursheed Shah, agreed on a former chief justice, Nasirul Mulk, whose name was announced on 28 May 2018.

2023–24. The National Assembly was dissolved on the advice of the Prime Minister on 9 August 2023, the Supreme Court recorded in a later judgment. Dawn reported that the outgoing Prime Minister, Shehbaz Sharif, and the Leader of the Opposition, Raja Riaz, agreed on Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar on 12 August. Radio Pakistan reported that he took the oath as caretaker Prime Minister on 14 August 2023.

The election was not held within 90 days. In a judgment of 3 November 2023, on petitions asking for elections to be held, the Supreme Court said the general election was not being held within the stipulated period because of the belated conduct of the 2023 census, which was followed by a fresh delimitation of constituencies. The Court recorded that the President and the Election Commission had agreed on 8 February 2024 as the polling date and said the matter stood resolved. The Election Commission’s annual report confirms that the general election was held on that date. The National Assembly’s bulletin records that it elected a Prime Minister on 3 March 2024, more than six months after the caretaker Prime Minister was sworn in.

This explainer is part of the series Pakistan Politics Explained.

Frequently asked questions

Can a caretaker Prime Minister or minister contest the election?

No. Article 224 bars members of a caretaker Cabinet, including the caretaker Prime Minister or Chief Minister, and their spouses and children, from contesting the election that immediately follows.

Who decides if the Prime Minister and the opposition leader cannot agree?

First an eight-member parliamentary committee, which has three days. If it cannot decide, the Election Commission of Pakistan chooses from the names put forward, within two days.

Is a caretaker government appointed after a no-confidence vote?

Not automatically. A successful no-confidence vote removes the Prime Minister, not the Assembly, which then elects a new one. A caretaker government is needed only if the Assembly is dissolved.

Is there a maximum term for a caretaker government?

Not in so many words. The Constitution sets deadlines for the election, 60 or 90 days, and not a term for the caretakers. In 2023–24 the federal caretaker government stayed in office beyond 90 days while the election date was settled.

Sources

• Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, as amended up to the Twenty-seventh Amendment (Ministry of Law and Justice edition, published by the National Assembly and listed as amended to 21 November 2025): Articles 48, 52, 58, 91, 105, 224 and 224A.
• Election Commission of Pakistan, Election Laws: Elections Act, 2017 (text as modified up to 5 August 2023), sections 57 and 230.
• Supreme Court of Pakistan, Constitution Petitions Nos. 32 and 36 of 2023, judgment of 3 November 2023.
• Supreme Court of Pakistan, Constitution Petitions Nos. 32 and 36 of 2023, order of 2 November 2023.
• Election Commission of Pakistan, Annual Report 2024 (date of the general election).
• National Assembly Secretariat, Bulletin of the Assembly, 3 March 2024.
• The Peninsula, “Hazar Khan Khoso is caretaker premier”, 25 March 2013.
• Dawn, “Former CJP Nasirul Mulk named as caretaker PM”, 28 May 2018.
• Dawn, “BAP’s Anwaarul Haq Kakar named caretaker prime minister”, 12 August 2023.
• Radio Pakistan, report on the oath of the caretaker Prime Minister, 14 August 2023.

Sources accessed on 8 October 2026.