Staff Report
ISLAMABAD: Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah made it clear that the next general election will be held on time and the national assembly and two provincial assemblies (Sindh and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa) will not be dissolved in case the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) dissolved Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa assemblies.
Dissolution of provincial assemblies for General Election
Addressing a press conference in Islamabad, the interior minister said that if the PTI dissolved the Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa assemblies, caretaker governments will be set up in the two provinces and a general election will be conducted.
He said that the government will try its best not to become part of any move leading to the dissolution of the assemblies. He said that the government will attempt to block the dissolution of assemblies under the constitution and the government would employ no unconstitutional path to block it.
While alluding to PTI chief Imran Khan’s announcement, Sanaullah said assemblies were not dissolved through public speeches. He said that the dissolution of assemblies is tantamount to creating political instability in the country and it will be an apolitical act.
Will not be blackmailed
The interior minister said that the PTI was resorting to propaganda and the government will not be blackmailed through such tactics.
Sanaullah said that Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz supremo and former prime minister Nawaz Sharif would be available to run the election campaign in Punjab. He said that once Nawaz Sharif was back in the country, the PML-N will launch a full-fledged election campaign in Punjab.
He said that a concerted operation was under way against hard-core elements and the government was engaged with only those who renounce arms and shun violence.
