Options being mulled over dissolution of assemblies, says CM’s aide

MANSEHRA: Chief Minister’s Advisor on Information Mohammad Ali Saif on Friday said that options were being weighed about dissolution of the Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa assemblies.

“The Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) and its allied parties have still been weighing different options either to dissolve both Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab Assembly together or one after the other. Chief Minister Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi will decide about the Punjab Assembly,” he told reporters at the press club here.

Flanked by PTI leaders Kamal Saleem Swati and Dr Iftakhar Zaidi, he said that PTI chief Imran Khan had constituted a committee led by former foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi and having representations from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab provinces to decide when and how to dissolve the assemblies. “There are different options before this committee which is going to meet in Lahore on today (Saturday), as if both Punjab and KP assemblies are dissolved what would be the outcome,” he added. The CM’s aide said that according to his personal opinion, it might be a futile exercise if the PTI couldn’t get the desired results through the dissolution of Punjab and KP assemblies. “The Punjab Chief Minister, who is still uncertain about his future course of action, wants the KP Assembly PTI to be dissolved first and he would follow suit,” Saif said. He added that there was a complex situation and not only PTI was mulling different options, but the federal government was also taking various steps to linger on the affairs. He said that the PTI was yet to decide if it would contest the by- or not once both KP and Punjab assemblies were dissolved. While clarifying the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government’s position on the dissolution of assembly, he said that there was no hurdle in its way. “The opposition can only delay the process of dissolution through a no-confidence against the chief minister,” he added.