National Assembly will be dissolved in August; PPP, PML-N agree

Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), the two major political parties in the ruling coalition, have agreed to dissolve the National Assembly on August 8, Geo News has reported.

However, Information Minister Mariyum Aurangzeb has tweeted that the date of the dissolution of the National Assembly has not been decided yet.

“The date [of dissolution] will be decided in consultation with the PDM and other allied parties. The decision on the date of dissolution of the National Assembly will be officially announced,” she added.

The National Assembly is completing its tenure on August 12 at midnight, but it seems like the lower house is going to be dissolved before time. According to sources, August 9 and 10 also came under discussion, but both major political parties agreed on August 8 to dissolve the National Assembly.

“A general election to the National Assembly or a provincial assembly shall be held within a period of sixty days immediately following the day on which the term of the assembly is due to expire, unless the Assembly has been sooner dissolved,” Article 224 of the Constitution states.

In the previous week, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had said, “Next month, our government will complete its tenure. We will leave before the completion of our tenure, and an interim government will come”.