Punjab provincial assembly dissolved on orders of former Pakistan PM Imran
Imran Khan during a meeting with Pervez Elahi in Lahore. File photo
Gulf Today Report
The provincial assembly in Pakistan's most populous province, Punjab, was dissolved late on Saturday, in a move orchestrated by former prime minister Imran Khan as part of a bid to force early general elections.
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Punjab Governor Baligh Ur Rehman on Saturday signed a letter ordering the appointment of a caretaker chief minister, replacing Khan's coalition partner Chaudhry Pervez Elahi's government.
Elahi had advised the governor to dissolve the assembly earlier this week, with Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party seeking a provincial election.
Khan's party continues to command popularity, and is expected to also dissolve the provincial assembly in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, where it holds power in a coalition government.
Fresh elections to the Punjab assembly — which governs vital services for roughly half of Pakistan's 220 million citizens — must now be held within 90 days.
Provincial polls in Pakistan have historically been held at the same time as general elections, although the synchronicity is not constitutionally mandated.
A countrywide general election is due in October 2023.
PTI spokesman Fawad Chaudry previously told AFP the dissolutions were planned as "a huge pressure tactic".
Khan has been staging a series of huge and rousing rallies, touting a claim that he was ousted by a US-led "conspiracy". The US State Department and Sharif's government have denied the allegations.In November, Khan was shot at a party rally, an assassination bid he blamed on Sharif and a senior army intelligence officer, without providing evidence of his allegations.
