Says he has two days to decide PA dissolution advice
LAHORE
Punjab Governor Balighur Rehman on Friday floated April 12 as date for provincial assembly elections to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif as Chief Minister Parvez Elahi had advised him to dissolve the assembly a day earlier.
The governor is also expected to sign the summary sent by the CM shortly as he has been reported to have reviewed all the legal options. Meanwhile, the Punjab Governor during his visit to Expo Center in Lahore on Friday, said he has two days to decide the Chief Minister Pervez Elahi’s advice on the dissolution of the Punjab Assembly (PA).
The Punjab Governor confirmed the media reports that a summary of the dissolution of the assembly from Punjab Chief Minister Chaudhry Pervez Elahi has been received him. Punjab Governor Baligh-ur-Rehman said he will decide the matter in the next two days as an early dissolution of an elected assembly is a difficult step.
It is worth mentioning that Governor Baligh-ur-Rehman also tweeted a copy of the Punjab Chief Minister’s summary to dissolve the Punjab Assembly. Yesterday night, former information minister Fawad Ch said Parvez Elahi has signed the summary to dissolve the Punjab Assembly and forwarded it to the governor.
He added: “If the governor does not dissolve the assembly in two days, it will stand dissolved automatically. We will write a letter to Hamza Shehbaz, leader of the opposition in the Punjab Assembly, for the establishment of a caretaker government. The elections will place within 90 days.”
“We will approach the public after dissolving the assemblies of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.” He stressed that Pakistan will have to move towards a national election.
He continued: “The PTI has been demanding the National Assembly speaker to accept the resignation of its members. “It won’t make sense if two provinces, making up 70 per cent of the country, hold elections while the rest of the country doesn’t.”
He said the PTI is grateful to the PML-Q for its unwavering support in the tough times. Punjab Chief Minister Pervez Elahi advised the Governor to dissolve the assembly after holding a meeting with his coalition partner, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan at his Zaman Park residence.
Earlier, Parvez Elahi earned a vote of confidence from the Punjab Assembly after the opposition walked out crying foul. Speaker Sibtain Khan said Parvez Elahi got 186 votes while outside the Punjab Assembly, Federal Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah described the session’s proceedings as “against the rules and Constitution”, and accused the speaker of bulldozing the vote of confidence.
Earlier, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif held telephonic conversation with PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif and discussed the ongoing political situation in Punjab.
