Shehbaz Sharif to dissolve Pakistan parliament on August 9

Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will dissolve the parliament of the country on August 9, three days before the incumbent assembly’s term is scheduled to end.

Shehbaz Sharif shared the information at a dinner reception hosted in honour of the ruling allies of Pakistan at the Prime Minister’s House, reports Dawn.

The report says 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, Shehbaz Sharif 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 on Friday, 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, Pakistan Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari also held a lengthy meeting with the prime minister 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.

Shehbaz 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.