The Cabinet of Pakistan will step down in August following the completion of the five-year term of the National Assembly, according to Pakistani Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif.
In a statement on Thursday, Sharif confirmed that the government would resign next month after the dissolution of the National Assembly at the end of its tenure. The lower house of Pakistan's parliament is set to conclude its term on August 12. Sharif stated that the government would resign no later than August 14, enabling the country to hold the next general elections within two months, either in October or November. The exact date for the elections will be determined by the Election Commission.
It is unclear whether Prime Minister Sharif will request an early dissolution of the National Assembly from President Arif Alvi. If early dissolution occurs, parliamentary elections, as per the constitution, can take place no sooner than 90 days after the lower house's premature dissolution.
Media reports indicate that the ruling coalition parties in Pakistan, primarily the Pakistan Muslim League led by Sharif and the Pakistan People's Party, have yet to reach a consensus on the matter of early dissolution.
The timing of the parliamentary elections remains a highly debated topic among Pakistani politicians. The opposition party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), led by former Prime Minister Imran Khan, is advocating for early elections in order to regain power in the country. In January, the PTI dissolved the legislative assemblies of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab provinces, where it held a majority, with the hope of pressuring the ruling alliance into dissolving the legislatures of other provinces and holding early parliamentary elections in April. However, the authorities managed to thwart those opposition plans, postponing the voting for National Assembly candidates until at least this fall.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: Maqsood aktar/Creative Commons 4.0
Based on materials from TASS