Pakistan govt to dissolve National Assembly today

By Hamza Ameer
Islamabad, Aug 9 (IANS) Pakistan’s coalition government under the premiership of Shehbaz Sharif is set to dissolve the National Assembly on Wednesday and bring in a caretaker government.

Prime Minister Sharif will send a written summary to President Arif Alvi for approval of the dissolution.

According to the country's constitution, the President will have 48 hours to approve the summary.

However, if the hefails to approve it, the assemblies would stand dissolved after 48 hours. 

“On the completion of the incumbent government’s term, I would send a summary to the President of Pakistan for dissolution of the National Assembly. And after meeting constitutional norms, we will hand over the reins to the interim setup,” Sharif said in an address at the General Headquarters (GHQ) in Rawalpindi. 

As part of the preparations, Sharif has been busy in consultations with his coalition partners regarding the formation of a caretaker government setup. 

Government sources said that the ongoing consultations are focused on the formation of an empowered interim government under an interim-Prime Minister, who would have additional powers to take difficult decisions, especially on the economic front. 

Prime Minister Sharif said that after dissolution of the National Assembly, it would be the responsibility of the Chief Election Commissioner to decide the future course of action regarding polls.

He added that all political parties were of the view that elections should be held at the earliest. 

Since the decision was taken to dissolve the National Assembly, Sharif has been holding meetings with leaders of political parties along with the Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly, Raza Riaz as part of his constitutional obligation to consult all stakeholders regarding the appoint of an interim prime minister. 

As per reports, there are at least three names, which are under consideration during ongoing consultations.  

The sources say that the name of former Finance Minister Hafeez Sheikh is on top of the list, while names of other political leaders are also being discussed.  

Meanwhile, former army chief General retired Raheel Sharif is also being considered for the interim premier position. 

“I have completed the consultations process with allies and three names of interim prime minister have been finalized. The names do not include any politicians, but an economist has been shortlisted” Riaz said while hinting towards a mutual agreement over the name of the former Finance Minister. 

While the mandate of the interim government is to ensure that polls are held within 90 days, the government’s decision to hold general elections under the new digital census and according new delimitations, it is expected that the Election Commission of Pakistan may take much longer than 90 days as the normal process of completion of delimitations may take at least six to eight months.