ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has summoned separate meetings of the federal cabinet and coalition parties for consultation on prevailing political situation as the Supreme Court is set to resume hearing on petition seeking simultaneous elections in the country on Thursday (April 27).
The meeting will be held on Wednesday (today) and all parliamentary leaders of the coalition parties are expected to attend it at the Prime Minister’s House. The premier would hold consultation regarding dialogue with the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf and Punjab elections.
Before Eidul Fitr, a three-member bench headed by Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial and comprising Justice Ijazul Ahsan and Justice Munib Akhtar had given the political parties a week to develop a consensus on the date for holding national and provincial elections simultaneously.
The apex court had also directed them to submit a progress report on April 27 about the meeting of political leaders scheduled to be held on April 26. The bench had issued the directives while hearing petitions seeking elections across the country on the same day, a key demand by the coalition government. However, the PTI is calling for snap polls in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa where it had dissolved the assemblies earlier this year.
Federal cabinet meeting
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has also convened meeting of the federal cabinet on Wednesday (today).
According to officials sources, the federal cabinet will mull over the political situation and the matters related to holding elections in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces.
The cabinet will also mull over the issues that surfaced during the consultative process among the political parties.
The meeting will likely to be given briefing on the economic situation and contacts with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) over bailout package.
