ISLAMABAD: Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah has said general elections in Pakistan would he held on time, with the vote scheduled for mid-October this year.
Sanaullah’s comments in an interview to Independent Urdu came as Pakistan is engulfed in a months-long political crisis, which reached a crescendo last month with deadly clashes between supporters of former Prime Minister Imran Khan and police after Pakistan’s anti-corruption agency arrested the opposition politician on May 9.
Khan is out on bail but thousands of his supporters remain under arrest and over 100 members of his party have since jumped ship. The government has also threatened to ban Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party while the military has started military trials of those rioters that attacked military installations.
“Absolutely, elections should be on time and it seems they will happen on time and their taking place on time is very important,” Sanaullah said. “This is important for this country’s political and societal stability. And god willing they will happen.”
He said the government had even allocated finances for elections in the budget for fiscal year 2023-24.
Asked about reports that the government could extend the tenure of the National Assembly, which is set to dissolve on August 13, 2023 upon completing its five year term, Sanaullah said there was no point of extending parliament’s tenure for a few months.
“There should be elections and a fresh mandate,” he said.
If the National Assembly is dissolved on time, general elections are to be held no later than October 14, 2023, as constitutionally they need to be held less than 60 days after the dissolution of parliament.
The rupture in Pakistan’s febrile politics comes as the 230-million-population nation faces its worst economic crisis in decades, with dwindling reserves and a stalled $6.5 billion IMF program that is expiring in June and scarce other financing sources in sight.
The turmoil since Khan was ousted from the office of the prime minister in a parliamentary no-trust vote in April last year has scarred the country’s economy and markets.
Pakistan’s rupee has lost nearly 50 percent over the past 12 months. The main stock index has suffered a double-digit decline over the same period.
