Pakistan: Ousted premier Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party on Sunday warned Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif-led government that it will dissolve the assemblies in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces if a date for the next general election is not announced by December 20. "Leaders of the imported government don't want polls and they have no idea how to run the country," former information minister and PTI's senior vice president Fawad Chaudhry said in a tweet. He criticised the members of the ruling coalition led by Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), saying the country's affairs are not run by appointing ministers and making foreign visits.
"If the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) doesn't bring a formula for holding general elections by December 20, the Punjab and KP assemblies will be dissolved," Chaudhry said. The Pakistan Democratic Movement or PDM is a coalition of political parties currently ruling the country. Khan's PTI is in power in Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan provinces. Chaudhry said that Pakistan needs political stability which is not possible without a stable government.
He said that the process of general elections in the two provinces will be completed by March 20 and PTI has complete trust of its allies on the issue. Earlier, Chaudhry had said that Punjab Chief Minister Punjab Chaudhry Parvez Elahi suggested extending the date for the dissolution of the provincial assemblies. On December 5, Elahi had said that he did not see elections taking place in the next four months.
In an interview with a private news channel, he had said: "Elections cannot be held before four months; the federal and provincial governments need time to work and the elections may be delayed even after October next year." On Friday, the PML-N dared Khan to dissolve the Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa assemblies without any delay, saying the federal government was ready to hold polls in the two provinces in 90 days. Earlier this month, Khan had warned that he will dissolve the assemblies in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces ruled by his party if the federal government led by Prime Minister Sharif does not sit down for talks and announce dates for the general elections.
Khan, 70, had last month announced that his lawmakers will resign from the provincial assemblies as he withdrew a threat to march on the capital Islamabad by saying that it would result in destruction. The PML-N-led federal government has threatened to impose Governor's rule in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces. Khan, the former cricketer-turned-politician, who was ousted as prime minister in April this year after a no-confidence motion was passed in the National Assembly, is seeking fresh general elections in Pakistan. However, the federal government led by Prime Minister Sharif is opposed to holding elections now. The term of the current National Assembly will end in August 2023.
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