Minister for Information and Broadcasting Marriyum Aurangzeb on Tuesday said so far no decision had been taken on the date for dissolution of the National Assembly.
“A decision has not been taken yet on the NA’s dissolution date. The date will be decided in consultation with the PDM (Pakistan Democratic Movement) and allied parties, and it will be officially announced,” the minister tweeted.
The statement came as a private TV channel reported that Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) – the two major stakeholders in the federal government – have agreed to dissolve the National Assembly on August 8.
The five-year constitutional term of the incumbent National Assembly expires on August 12 at midnight – four days after the date on which both parties have reportedly agreed to dissolve the legislature.
According to the TV channel, August 9 and 10 also came under discussion, but it was decided to go for August 8 to avoid any hurdle in the early dissolution of the assembly.
As per the law, if the president doesn’t approve the summary, the assembly stands dissolved after 48 hours – giving the government enough time to achieve its target of premature dissolution.
A general election to the National Assembly or a provincial assembly shall be held within a period of sixty days immediately following the day on which the term of the assembly is due to expire, unless the Assembly has been sooner dissolved,” Article 224 of the Constitution states. However, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) is bound to hold the general polls within 90 days if the assembly is dissolved before its constitutional term, according to the Constitution’s Article 224(2). “Next month, our government will complete its tenure. We will leave before the completion of our tenure and an interim government will come,” Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said at an event recently. The PPP had earlier proposed that the assembly should be dissolved ahead of its constitutional term.
