ISLAMABAD: Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah on Monday said the assemblies could be dissolved earlier than the scheduled date of August 13 to “facilitate” the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).
If the assemblies get dissolved on August 11 instead of August 13, the ECP will get more time — 90 days — to hold elections, he said while speaking on Geo News programme ‘Aaj Shahzeb Khanzada Kay Sath’ in reply to a question about the ruling party looking to delay elections till November.
He asserted that the PML-N and its supremo, Nawaz Sharif, were clear that assemblies should be dissolved and elections held on time.
Asked whether the intention behind delaying the dissolution of the assemblies was to “facilitate the ECP or politics” so that verdicts were issued in cases against the PTI chief and Nawaz got time for the election campaign after his expected return before the polls, Sanaullah said, “I don’t think the difference of 20 to 30 days makes much of a difference.” “We have been managing matters according to constitutional requirements,” he added.
Sanaullah’s statement comes as the final 30-day countdown to the end of the current parliament’s term and the government’s tenure is set to begin this week, and the term of the National Assembly, along with the provincial assemblies of Sindh and Balochistan, is set to expire on August 12.
Following the dissolution of the assemblies, a caretaker setup will take over government affairs in Islamabad, Karachi and Quetta.
Similar interim administrations are already in place in Lahore and Peshawar since the dissolution of the Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa assemblies months ahead of their term-end in January.
However, he added that the 90-day period did not mean the ECP would hold elections on the 90th day but could do so at any date of its choosing, “be it after 64 days or 72 days”.
Nevertheless, he assured, “the assemblies will be dissolved after completing their term, after which the caretaker set-up will come and elections will be held in accordance with the Constitution”.
The interior minister said that architect and planner of May 9 riots was the PTI chairman. He said he (Imran) used to tell lies forcefully, provoked his PTI workers and activists to create panic and chaos by damaging properties and official institutions and used to say that his arrest would be a red line. Sanaullah said that some miscreants came out but not public on his call.
He said vandals who were arrested for attacking private and government properties are facing law, the law will take its own course and challans are being submitted in anti-terrorism courts and action is underway against them.
Sanaullah said those who were involved in looting and burning defence installations should be tried under the Army Act.