ISLAMABAD: Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah stated that it is possible to dissolve the assemblies earlier than August 13. It would facilitate the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).
“If the assemblies are dissolved before August 13, the ECP will get more time to hold elections,” he said. Rana stated this in response to a question about the ruling coalition looking to delay elections till November.
He asserted that Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) was clear that assemblies should be dissolved and elections held on time.
The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) dissolved the Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in January. However, the legislatures in Sindh and Balochistan, as well as, the National Assembly, are yet to be dissolved.
He was then asked whether the intention behind delaying the dissolution of the assemblies was to “facilitate the ECP or politics” in order to ensure that verdicts were issued in cases against the PTI chief and to allow Nawaz time for the election campaign after his expected return before the polls.
Sanaullah said: “I don’t think the difference of 20 to 30 days makes much of a difference. We have been managing matters according to constitutional requirements.”
Sanaullah’s statement comes as the final 30-day countdown to the end of the current parliament’s term. The National Assembly and the assemblies of Sindh and Balochistan are set to be dissolved on August 12.
Following the dissolution of the assemblies, a caretaker setup will take over government affairs in Islamabad, Karachi, and Quetta.
However, he added that the 90-day period did not mean the ECP would hold elections on the 90th day but could do so at any date of its choosing, “be it after 64 days or 72 days”.
Nevertheless, he assured: “The assemblies will be dissolved after completing their term, after which the caretaker set-up will come and elections will be held in accordance with the Constitution.”
Separately, Qamar Zaman Kaira, the Advisor to the Prime Minister on Kashmir Affairs and Gilgit-Baltistan has expressed that nowadays, there is widespread concern about whether the elections would be held on time or not.
During the inauguration ceremony of Lalamusa, he announced that the elections would take place within 60 to 90 days.
There is no need to be a victim of any kind of confusion, he said.
