LAHORE: Punjab Assembly will become the last to dissolve Wednesday, setting the scene for probable provincial elections on May 11 as well, as chief of the ruling party in the province hinted the assembly’s dissolution today.
Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) chief Nawaz Sharif has said that his younger brother, Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif will send a summary to Governor Makhdoom Ahmad Mehmood for approving the dissolution of the Punjab Assembly any time today.
“For five years we tolerated the government with patience for the sake of democracy,” Sharif told reporters at his family's sprawling estate of Raiwind just outside Lahore.
He urged the people of Pakistan to “rejoice” at the prospect of a democratic transition, adding: “We have to strengthen democracy. Martial law is not a solution, it is the cause of many ills.”
However, a consensus has yet to be reached over the caretaker setup in the province.
The matter of nominating a caretaker setup in the province would be forwarded to a parliamentary committee in case the issue was not resolved between the opposition leader and chief minister of the Punjab Assembly.
The assemblies of the other three provinces have already been dissolved.
Speaking during the press conference, Nawaz Sharif praised the role of the opposition for the successful completion of the Parliament’s constitutional term. He said for the first time in the country’s history, an elected government has completed its five-year term “without military’s shelter.”
The PML-N chief however criticised the formation of caretaker governments in Sindh and Balochistan through “connivance.” “This is a first step towards rigging and making the polls dubious,” he added.
Earlier during the day Presidential spokesperson Dr Farhatullah Babar announced that elections would be held on May 11.
Moreover the government and opposition in the centre had already agreed upon holding elections for all provincial assemblies and the National Assembly at the same day whereas the parliamentary committee’s discussions over the nomination of a caretaker Prime Minister still remained unresolved. – AFP/DawnNews
