Dubai News
The chief minister of Pakistan’s most populous province, an ally of former prime minister Imran Khan, has called for the local assembly to be dissolved, in a bid to force the Federal government into holding snap general elections in the country.
Punjab Chief Minister Parvez Elahi, a coalition partner of former prime minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) political party, advised the provincial governor to dissolve the local assembly late on Thursday.
The governor, Baligh Ur Rehman, told reporters that he would take a decision soon. Legal experts say Rehman has 48 hours to decide. If he does not, the assembly will be considered legally void, unless the dissolution order is contested in court.
“It is a difficult decision to take,” Rehman said. “We will, God willing, take a decision soon.”
Punjab is home to more than half of Pakistan‘s population of more than 220 million, and is one of two provinces ruled by the PTI. PTI members are also meeting on Friday to discuss dissolving the local assembly of the other province, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the party’s Information Secretary Fawad Chaudhry said.
Pakistan is due to hold general elections later this year, but Khan has been calling for elections since he was ousted in April 2022 after losing a parliamentary vote of confidence. The 70-year-old former international cricketer-turned maverick politician has also led nationwide protests against his successor, Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif.
Local elections in both provinces, in addition to general elections later this year, would be an expensive and logistically complicated exercise for a government heavily dependent on foreign aid after devastating floods last year.
Political analysts said this pressure played into Khan’s demands, although any local assembly elections did not constitutionally trigger a national election.
“We want elections. No more, no less,” PTI’s Chaudhry told reporters when asked about Punjab’s decision to dissolve its legislative assembly.
The federal government was considering contesting the decision to dissolve the Punjab assembly in court, a government spokesman said.
The assemblies of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces will be dissolved on Saturday to make way for local polls, said party officials from Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf. His party won at least 25 of 33 seats in by-elections held over the past six months, indicating strong support and a likely victory in Punjab as well as showing rivals his popularity, according to analysts.
Sharif repeatedly rejected Khan’s demands for snap elections, saying his government needs to focus instead on rebuilding the country after devastating floods. The economy faces a serious dollar shortage at a time when Pakistan’s loan program with the International Monetary Fund is delayed.
The current government’s tenure ends in August and national elections have to be held within three months.
“Khan’s assessment is that he is enjoying a high level of popularity that can give him a clear majority in the parliament,” said Ahmed Bilal Mehboob, president of the Pakistan Institute of Legislative Development and Transparency in Islamabad.
“If the government even doesn’t agree on early general elections, then he can at least come into the Punjab assembly with a high degree of strength,” Mehboob added.
Khan, who led huge nationwide rallies and has won most of the by-elections since his ouster last April, sees early national elections as way to regain power and resolve the economic crisis that his critics say he was responsible for. During Khan’s time in power, he had appointed four finance ministers and about half a dozen finance secretaries.
Sharif has invited all political parties including Khan’s PTI party to discuss and agree on an economic charter that would ensure a consistency in policy making, irrespective of who governs Pakistan, a move that was immediately rejected.
“If they want to talk, first talk on a political framework,” Fawad Chaudhry, a senior PTI leader said. “Give us an election date and then other matters, including the IMF or economy, may be discussed.”
Powerful Military
Analysts have said Khan is pushing for the dissolution of the state assemblies to send a message to the powerful military establishment that had initially backed his rise to power in 2018. He wants to show them that he is still popular and that it would be disruptive to hold elections in phases, Mehboob said.
The Pakistani army, under its new chief General Asim Munir, has said it will stay apolitical and that all the decisions, including the timing of the general elections, would be taken by Sharif’s government.
The prime minister’s party will still contest in the provincial elections in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa assemblies. The local legislatures are heading for a dissolution after the Chief Minister for Punjab Chaudhry Parvez Elahi, a Khan ally, unexpectedly called for and won a confidence vote in a late night session earlier this week.
“We have reservations on the process of the confidence vote as certain legal procedures weren’t followed,” said Malik Muhammad Ahmed Khan, a special assistant to Sharif on defense. “But we will contest election whenever it’s held. We aren’t leaving the field for them. There’s no talk of boycotting the election.”
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