Pakistan: Coalition govt to complete tenure, elections to be held on time, says PDM chief

Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) Chairman Maulana Fazlur Rehman on Thursday said that the Shehbaz Sharif-led coalition government would complete its constitutional tenure and the next general elections will be held on time.

The JUI-F chief made the announcement after chairing the alliance's top brass meeting following the Supreme Court's verdict in the Punjab chief minister (CM) election case. He said that the elections will be held on time and the assemblies will complete their tenure, ARY News reported.

Addressing a press conference after the meeting, Rehman said that key decisions were taken during the sitting as well as the two resolutions were adopted unanimously by the forum.

"It was decided that the federal government will send a Presidential Ordinance to the Supreme Court for the interpretation of Article 63A via a full court bench," he said.

The resolution stated that as per the Constitution of Pakistan, the executive and judiciary have been given responsibilities and no institution should cross the domain of the other, ARY News reported.

The PDM expressed concern over the recent SC verdict which created "chaos, confusion and political crisis" in the country.

The resolution further stated that the different standards of justice and interpretations have justified the concerns of the ruling coalition, therefore, the presidential reference should be sent to the Supreme Court as soon as possible.

In the second resolution, the PDM chief said, the alliance demanded the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to immediately announce its verdict on the prohibited funding case against Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).

On Tuesday, Pakistan Supreme Court declared Punjab Deputy Speaker Dost Muhammad Mazari's ruling in the Punjab chief minister's election "illegal" and ruled that PTI's candidate Pervez Elahi will be the new CM of the province.

"The country's representative parties have expressed their anxiety on this issue. Legal experts, media and civil society have also not agreed with this decision," the resolution added.

The JUI-F chief further said that former prime minister Imran Khan can only hurl accusations and he does not have a narrative.

The meeting was attended by PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif, and party vice-president Maryam Nawaz. Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, Marriyum Aurangzeb, Aftab Sherpao, Owais Noorani, Tahir Bizenjo, Ghafoor Haidari and others also participated in the meeting.

This comes amid the reports that Pakistan's ruling coalition and rival former Prime Minister Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and all allied parties are expected to begin talks over the date of fresh general elections.

As per a local media report, the date for the same is expected to be in October 2022.

( With inputs from ANI )

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