Pakistan National Assembly to be dissolved on Aug 9

Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday revealed that he will dissolve the National Assembly on August 9, three days before the incumbent assembly’s term is scheduled to end, reports Dawn.

The premier shared this information at a dinner reception hosted in honour of the ruling allies at the Prime Minister’s House, a source who attended the event told Dawn.

Since the National Assembly would be dissolved before time, this means that general elections are to be held within 90 days.

The constitution provides that if the assembly completes its tenure, elections are to be held in 60 days, but in case of premature dissolution — which will be the case here — this period is extended to 90 days.

At the reception, the PM apprised the participants that the ruling PML-N had finalised consultations within the party and the premier will begin a final round of discussions with allies on the caretaker set-up, a process which is expected to take at least three days.

A meeting with allies on the caretaker set-up is also expected to be held on Friday through Zoom. On Thursday, Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari also held a lengthy meeting with the PM on this issue, the source said.

At the dinner, the prime minister apprised his allies about the performance of the coalition government and 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.

PM Shehbaz claimed in the power sector recoveries remained over 90 per cent. However, it may be noted that the circular debt posted an 18 per cent — Rs393 billion — increase in the past 11 months.

The PM said in the IT sector significant progress was witnessed during the last four months and added that the total volume of IT exports went up to $2.6 billion during the last fiscal year.

Total foreign investment remained at $1.45 billion during the fiscal year 2022-23, he said, hoping with the establishment of the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC) more foreign investment would be fetched.

The prime minister said with the Rs1.8 trillion Kissan Package, the government has met 99 per cent of targets. He said the government had saved the country from being default and comprehensive policies have been devised for the welfare of the people.