 "Shehbaz Sharif to step down as Pak PM before next month; all you must know")
Nearly two days after Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif announced that his term would end on August 13, 2023, he announced that his government would hand over power to a caretaker setup before the end of its tenure next month, implying that the National Assembly would be dissolved days before the end of its tenure in order to expedite the November general election, reported Dawn.
However, Shehbaz's change of heart appears to be the result of counsel from his ally, Pakistan People's Party (PPP) leader Asif Ali Zardari.
"Zardari in a meeting with PM Shehbaz on Saturday asked him to dissolve the National Assembly a couple of days before the government completes its tenure so that elections can be held in November," a senior PPP leader told Dawn.
Why is Shehbaz handing over early?
Under the Constitution, if the National Assembly serves its full term, elections must be held within 60 days. However, if the assembly is dissolved early, even if just by a day, the administration will have 90 days to hold elections.
The five-year term of the National Assembly commenced under the then-Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government of Imran Khan on August 12, 2018, and is slated to end under the ruling coalition led by Shehbaz.
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Addressing a laptop distribution ceremony in Sialkot, Shehbaz said, “Our government will complete its term next month. We will hopefully go before the tenure’s completion and the new interim government will take over.”
He added that if his party (the PML-N) wins the upcoming general elections, it will change the country's fate.
'Neighbouring nations made greater progress'
Earlier this week, when speaking at an event in Islamabad, the Prime Minister conceded that the current scenario was not in the country's favor and speculated on the timing of the elections.
"I assure you that our government will end on August 14, and whenever elections happen, the Election Commission of Pakistan [ECP] will announce it, and I hope that whichever government comes prioritises education," Sharif said as the country continues to battle an economic crisis for the past two years.
It is worth noting that the current Shehbaz government came into power in April, 2022, when the Imran Khan rule was deposed. Since then, the government has faced numerous turbulences, including economic, inflationary, and domestic upheaval. Khan, who is facing various allegations, has called for early elections several times. The Election Commission, however, denied his request.
Earlier this year, when Khan was jailed on corruption accusations by the National Accountability Bureau, the country was rocked by massive violence in which protestors set fire to government buildings, including the Army headquarters.
'Pakistan was no longer in the race'
Prime Minister Sharif also voiced his discontent with the current scenario and acknowledged that neighbouring nations had made greater development than Pakistan, mentioning a time when Pakistan used to compete with them.
He also expressed his disappointment that Pakistan was no longer in the race when it came to competing with its neighbours. Notably, Pakistan is bordered by India to the east, Afghanistan to the northwest and Iran to the west while China borders the country in the northeast.
Although the relations with New Delhi remained tense, it received whopping funds from its "all-weather friend", China.
The prime minister further said he would be "grateful" to China for rolling over $5 billion in loans to Pakistan in the last three months “when we were in need.”