Governor says dissolution ‘lengthy process’
PTI leader Fawad Chaudhry on Friday urged Governor Balighur Rehman to dissolve the Punjab Assembly (PA) forthwith instead of waiting for the 48-hour deadline to pass.
“We advise the governor to not wait 48 hours and to sign the summary already,” he said while speaking to the media outside former prime minister Imran Khan’s Zaman Park residence in Lahore.
The remarks come a day after Punjab Chief Minister Chaudhry Parvez Elahi, hours after regaining the confidence of a majority of lawmakers in PA, formally advised the governor to dissolve the provincial legislature.
Fawad said contact was being initiated with Leader of the Opposition in the PA Hamza Shahbaz to begin dis cussions over the caretaker setup and that Elahi would be forwarding him a few names.
“We hope he (Elahi) sends the names of those who are able to carry out free and fair elections,” he said.
Fawad added that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Mahmood Khan and his cabinet were scheduled to visit the PTI chairman but were unable to do so due to inclement weather.
“We spoke to them on the phone,” he said. “They have prepared the advice to dissolve the KP assembly”.
He lambasted the ruling coalition government for “hiding their faces from the public”.
“All they do is run from elections. Democracy thrives on votes,” he said, adding that the government could not keep running away from polls.
Meanwhile, Governor Balighur Rehman has said that the process for the dissolution of assembly would happen step by step, terming it to be a “lengthy process”.
Speaking at a ceremony in Lahore, he said that elections were bound to happen within 90 days of the assembly’s dissolution but noted that it would be Ramazan at that time.
“If we schedule the by-polls earlier, we won’t have enough time for preparations,” he said.
He added that the opposition leader in the PA would need to be consulted regarding the caretaker setup, adding that this process also “requires time”.
Elahi’s advice seals fate of provincial legislature
The source said the PML-Q now expected the PTI would give its “loyal ally” a bigger share in seat adjustments.
