Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has said that the National Assembly would be dissolved on August 9, three days before the term of the lower house of Parliament is scheduled to end, a move which will prompt general elections in the country within 90 days.
Sharif said this on Thursday at a dinner reception hosted in honour of the ruling allies at the Prime Minister’s House, the Dawn newspaper reported on Friday
The ruling coalition government is getting ready to face an election at the completion of the five-year term of Parliament on August 12.
The Constitution provides that if the National Assembly completes its tenure, elections are to be held in 60 days, but in case of premature dissolution, this period is extended to 90 days.
The prime minister will send a notification to President Arif Alvi for the dissolution of the National Assembly on August 9, The Express Tribune newspaper reported.
According to the Constitution, the assembly will stand dissolved as soon as the president signs the notification.
However, if, for any reason, the president does not sign the advice, the assembly will be automatically dissolved after 48 hours of receiving the prime minister’s notification, the report said.
At the reception, Sharif apprised the participants that the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) had finalised consultations within the party, and the premier will begin a final round of discussions with allies on the caretaker set-up on Friday. This process is expected to take at least three days.
An online meeting with allies on the caretaker set-up is also expected to be held on Friday.
On Thursday, Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari also held a lengthy meeting with the prime minister on this issue, the source said, according to the report.
The premier briefed his allies at the dinner about the coalition government’s performance. He claimed that the government had increased revenue collection by 13 per cent in 15 months as more than 1.3 million new taxpayers were included in the tax net.
