Pakistan National Assembly to be dissolved on August 9: PM Sharif
Pakistan’s National Assembly is to be dissolved on August 9, three days ahead of schedule, prompting fresh general elections within 90 days, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has said.
Sharif made the announcement at a dinner he hosted for the ruling party’s allies, the Dawn newspaper reported on Friday.
The five-year term of Parliament ends on August 12.
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According to the Constitution, if the National Assembly completes its tenure, elections must be held in 60 days. In case of premature dissolution, this period is extended to 90 days.
At the reception, Sharif told the participants that the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) had finalised consultations within the party and that he will begin a final round of discussions with allies on a caretaker set-up.
An online meeting with allies on the caretaker set-up is also expected to be held on Friday.
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Allies on board
The prime minister 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.
He said significant progress was witnessed during the last four months in the IT sector and added that the total volume of IT exports went up to USD 2.6 billion in the previous fiscal year.
He said that foreign investment remained at USD 1.45 billion during the fiscal year 2022-23 and hoped that more foreign investment would follow.
The reception was attended by Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani, Speaker Raja Pervaiz Ashraf and leaders of Pakistan Peoples Party, Muttahida Qaumi Movement, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam(F), Balochistan Awami Party and Jamhoori Watan Party.
(With agency inputs)
