ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Sunday his government would go home before its tenure expires next month, after which an interim government would take over the country’s reins and conduct general elections.
Earlier this week, Sharif said his government would complete its tenure, which would expire on August 14 after which Pakistan’s election regulator would decide whether polls would be held in October or November 2023.
General elections have been a controversial topic in Pakistan ever since Sharif was elected last year following former prime minister Imran Khan’s ouster via a parliamentary vote. While Khan demanded snap polls, Sharif insisted the government would fulfill its tenure before heading to the elections.
“Whichever government is in power, today it is our government which would complete its tenure next month,” Sharif said at a girls college in Sialkot where he distributed laptops among students. “We will go home, God willing, before our tenure completes after which a new interim government would take over,” he added.
The government’s tiff with Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party and the Supreme Court of Pakistan reached an all-time high earlier this year when the top court took up a case related to election delays in the provinces of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa where Khan’s PTI party dissolved provincial legislatures in January.
The Supreme Court announced the Punjab polls on May 14 and instructed the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to make necessary arrangements for the contest, despite reservations from ECP officials on administrative and financial grounds. The court also instructed the country’s central bank to release the required funds and submit a compliance report.
As the government accused the judiciary of “trespassing” on the parliamentary domain, the ECP requested legislation that would empower it to make more autonomous decisions while conducting national elections.
Khan has rejected the government’s assertions that it would hold elections on time and has frequently said he fears the government would delay polls because it fears his rising popularity.
