— Assemblies to stand dissolved within 48 hours even if Governor doesn’t comply
— Rana Sana drops hint on by-polls in Punjab, KP
LAHORE: Punjab Chief Minister Chaudhry Parvez Elahi late Thursday night signed the summary for dissolving the provincial assembly of Punjab and forwarded the same to the Punjab Governor to dissolve the assembly.
The decision to dissolve the assembly was taken during a meeting between the chief minister and PTI Chairman Imran Khan at the latter’s Zaman Park residence, with senior party leaders in presence.
The assembly wasn’t dissolved earlier apparently due to a restriction from the Lahore High Court (LHC), but since Elahi won the legislative’s confidence once again, the bar was removed as the case was withdrawn.
“I, Parvez Elahi Chief Minister Punjab, hereby advise you to dissolve provincial assembly of Punjab,” reads a summary, a copy of which available with Pakistan Today, addressed by Parvez Elahi to Governor Punjab.
Punjab Governor Balighur Rehman also took to Twitter to confirm receipt of the summary.
Just received…… pic.twitter.com/7OBLlww6SV
— M Baligh Ur Rehman (@MBalighurRehman) January 12, 2023
Sources in the PTI have informed daily Pakistan Today that PTI chief Imran Khan contacted Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) chief minister Mahmood Khan and directed to dissolve KP Assembly.
PML-Q leader Chaudhry Moonis Elahi also took to social media blogging site, Twitter, to confirm the news.
“Promise fulfilled. May we see you back in PM seat soon @ImranKhanPTI. InshAllah!!”, he wrote.
Promise fulfilled. May we see you back in PM seat soon @ImranKhanPTI. InshAllah!! pic.twitter.com/myQqotYJVr
— Moonis Elahi (@MoonisElahi6) January 12, 2023
PTI leader Fawad Chaudhry also confirmed the development.
Speaking to the media in Lahore, he said that the advice had been forwarded to the Punjab governor. “If governor does not accept the advice then, the assembly is automatically dissolved after 48 hours”.
He made the remarks after a meeting between PTI Chairman Imran and Elahi at the former’s Zaman Park residence. Elahi had managed to secure the confidence of 186 lawmakers in a session that began on Wednesday and ended in the early hours of Thursday.
Fawad also said that the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly would be dissolved “day after tomorrow”.
“The KP Assembly will also be dissolved on a similar format a day after tomorrow and we have fulfilled our promise of going back to the people [for seeking support],” he said.
Fawad thanked Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) leaders Moonis Elahi and Hussain Elahi as well as their lawmakers for standing with the PTI. He said that the country was headed towards general elections, adding that the PTI and Imran had “fulfilled their promise”.
He said that a letter would be sent to PML-N’s Hamza Shehbaz in the next two days for finalising an interim government, adding that elections would take place in the next 90 days.
Fawad urged the federal government to abandon its “stubbornness”, asserting that the economy could not be fixed without holding new elections.
“It won’t make sense if two provinces, making up 70 per cent of the country, hold elections while the rest of the country doesn’t.”
Fawad called on National Assembly Speaker Raja Pervaiz Ashraf to accept the resignations of PTI lawmakers so that elections could be carried out alongside the provincial seats.
Fawad said the PTI and its allies have proven that despite all the pressure, they were not “afraid” of going back to the people for seeking votes as they had proven it by stepping down from government in both provinces.
KP Chief Minister Mahmood Khan also said that the KP government would be dissolved on Friday (today) and a summary would be sent to the Governor KP in this regard.
ECP to decide exact date for next elections: Sanaullah
Minister for Interior Rana Sanaullah has said the Supreme Court and Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) would decide the time frame of the next elections.
Talking to a private television channel, Sana said the Punjab chief minister forwarded the request to the Punjab governor for dissolving assemblies.
“After 48 hours, the assembly would automatically be dissolved in Punjab. There is no need to have the consent of the governor for dissolving assemblies,” he added.
The interim setup, he added, would ask the election commission to make necessary arrangements for the next elections in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhawa.
In reply to a question about the coalition of Dr Farooq Sattar’s party and Mustafa Kamal’s group, he said the political party members were going to unite for their personal interest.
