What was the recipe for Kakar?
The Kakar formula bears the name of General (retd) Abdul Waheed Kakar, the former Chief of Army Staff (COAS), who mediated a settlement between President Ghulam Ishaq Khan, Nawaz Sharif, and Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto.
In accordance with the Kakar formula, the parties involved decided on five measures to break the nation out of a political impasse. The points included the resignation of President Ghulam Ishaq Khan, the dissolution of assemblies, the appointment of an impartial temporary prime minister, and the resignation of Prime Minister Nawaz.
President Ishaq resigned as soon as he disbanded the assembly for the third time on April 18, 1993.
The PPP’s triumph and Benazir’s comeback to power
October 6, 1993, was the date of the subsequent poll. This time, Nawaz Sharif’s PML-N faced off against Benazir’s PPP. Despite receiving more votes than the PPP, the PML-N was only able to obtain 73 seats, while the PPP got 89 seats.
The BNP prevailed in Balochistan, the PML-N won Punjab, and the PPP also secured a majority in Sindh and KPK. Following the elections, Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto took over as prime minister for the second time, leading the PPP to establish a coalition government.
But in 1996, she was removed from office by her own nominee, President Farooq Leghari, ending her second government’s tenure at the government level. Pakistan advanced toward the 1997 third election of the 1990s.
