ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif on Thursday told his allies that the summary of dissolution of the National Assembly will be presented on August 9, sources told JEE News.
This assurance was given by the Prime Minister during a dinner for his allies in which the political situation in the country and general elections were discussed.
Officials, who were aware of the meeting and spoke on condition of anonymity, said the prime minister informed his allies to start consultations with Raja Riaz, the opposition leader in the National Assembly, for a caretaker prime minister from today (Friday). will The prime minister further said that he hoped that the consultation would be over in two to three days.
The term of the current assembly will end on August 12 and if it fulfills its allotted time, elections will be held within 60 days. However, the constitution says that if the assembly is dissolved before the completion of its term, elections must be held within 90 days.
If a summary of the dissolution of the lower house of Parliament is presented on August 9, it will be responsible for conducting the elections within 90 days on the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).
However, before the dissolution of the assembly, the government and the opposition have to agree on a name for the caretaker prime minister.
Last month, Prime Minister Shehbaz had formed a five-member committee of the Muslim League-N to consult on the election of a caretaker prime minister and dissolution of the National Assembly, JEE News reported.
Although the provincial assemblies of Sindh and Balochistan will be dissolved next month along with the National Assembly, the panel does not have any members from outside Punjab.
The committee consisting of Federal Ministers Ishaq Dar, Ahsan Iqbal, Khawaja Saad Rafiq, Sardar Ayaz Sadiq and Khawaja Muhammad Asif has been entrusted with the task of consulting the political parties and groups forming the current government.
With the formation of the committee, the consultation process for the immediate setup of the administration in the country has gained momentum.
According to the constitutional provisions, the Prime Minister as the Leader of the House and the Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly have to initiate consultations. Their failure may refer the matter to a parliamentary committee, constituted by the Speaker of the National Assembly.
Meanwhile, if the parliamentary committee also fails to elect a caretaker prime minister, the ECP will be the final authority to elect a caretaker prime minister.
‘Saved state in 15 months’
On the other hand, in his address – which was broadcast live – Prime Minister Shehbaz said that the coalition government during his 15 months in power saved the state.
We had to remove the thorns left behind by the PTI government, he said, adding that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) program was a challenge and the country was on the verge of default.
On the caretaker set-up, the prime minister said he would try to bring in a person who would be acceptable to all stakeholders and added that his government would go home in the coming days.
At the same time, he thanked all the parliamentarians for trusting him and praised National Assembly Speaker Raja Parvez Ashraf and Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani for how they ran the House.
