ISLAMABAD/LAHORE - Federal Minister for Interior Rana Sanaullah Khan Friday said that the National Assembly, as well as the Sindh and Balochistan assemblies, will remain intact until August this year. “With the CM’s advice of dissolution, Imran’s bandit rule has ended in Punjab,” he claimed. Talking to a private news channel, Rana Sanaullah said that after dissolution, elections for both the KP and Punjab assemblies would be held within 90 days. “We will contest the elections and win them”. Opposing the option of general elections, the minister said how can we ask the governments of Sindh and Balochistan to dissolve the assembly? Rana further said that the coalition parties were not in favour of dissolving the assemblies as this was an undemocratic act. “There was a strong opinion in our party to let them dissolve the assemblies, but if it happens, we are ready for elections,” he added. Also, Minister for Information and Broadcasting Marriyum Aurangzeb says the people will not vote for PTI, which has brought the country to the verge of default. In a statement on Friday, she said the province has become free of plunderers of Punjab’s resources. She said the people have recognised the crooks, who bought diamond rings with Punjab’s wealth. The minister expressed hope that the coalition partners will purge the province of foreign agents through the power of ballot Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Senior Vice-president Fawad Chaudhry Friday urged the Punjab governor to dissolve the Punjab Assembly forthwith so that the process of installing a caretaker setup could be started on time. Talking to reporters outside Zaman Park residence of party chief Imran Khan, the PTI leader said that Hamza Shehbaz was formally being contacted by the chief minister to seek names for the caretaker set up. Fawad said that the Punjab governor should assert his independence and dissolve the assembly immediately without waiting for the 48 hours for signing the summary. He hoped that the governor would issue the notification without any further delay. Fawad said that the Opposition Leader in Punjab Assembly was being formally contacted [by CM] to seek names for the caretaker government. He hoped that Hamza Shehbaz would forward names of impartial persons to hold free and fair elections. Replying to a question, he said that internal discussions had started in the PTI to finalise names for the caretaker set up. The PTI will give its names of care-taker PM to Ch Parvez Elahi who will share them with the opposition leader as per the constitution, he added. Talking about the timing of dissolution of KPK assembly, the PTI leader said that his party was waiting for the dissolution of the Punjab Assembly and a date [for KPK assembly dissolution] would be decided accordingly. “KP CM has prepared the summary for the dissolution of the provincial assembly, and he is waiting for a nod from the party chief”, he said, adding that Chief Minister Mahmood Khan was scheduled to reach Lahore today (Friday) but he could not make it due to bad weather conditions. Fawad said that an order regarding the KP Assembly’s dissolution will also be issued soon. To a question, he suggested the incumbent government to hold talks to settle issues regarding the framework of the upcoming elections. Fawad said that the election schedule should be the same for the whole country. Answering a question, he said that the president could ask the prime minister to take a vote of confidence as it was his constitutional right. Answering another question, the PTI leader said his party will not object to the return of PML-N Quaid Mian Nawaz Sharif to the country. Fawad claimed that he heard from someone that PML-N was not considering the 20 turncoats of the PTI for party tickets for the upcoming elections. Meanwhile, in response to PTI’s assertion for immediate dissolution of the Punjab Assembly, Punjab Governor Muhammad Balighur Rehman Friday said that the advice to dissolve the representative assembly of Punjab province had reached him, but it was a difficult decision for a democratic person to act on the advice. Talking to the media on the occasion of the opening session of the first edition of Property and Living Expo at Expo Center Lahore here, the governor said that a decision has to be taken after taking cognizance of all the constitutional and legal aspects. He said that issues related to caretaker set-up and the date of the next elections have to be given due consideration before dissolution of the assembly. “I will take a decision keeping in mind all these aspects and make a decision that will be constitutional, legal and in the interest of the country and nation”, he maintained. The governor, however, said that there was a provision in the constitution to dissolve the assembly. According to Radio Pakistan, Punjab Governor Muhammad Baligh ur Rehman also said that decision would also be made regarding the caretaker setup and date for next elections, which will be held within ninety days. The Governor said that it will also be taken into account that holy month of Ramazan will start after 90 days, during which public activities are different from normal days. Meanwhile, Minister for Interior Rana Sanaullah on Friday said that Pakistan Muslim League - N, would launch a vigorous campaign for winning the next elections with a thumping majority. Talking to a private television channel, he said, Nawaz Sharif could lead the party campaign to clinch maximum seats from the general elections. Election Commission of Pakistan, he said is responsible to hold the next elections with full preparation. After the dissolution of the two provincial assemblies, he said the PML-N will start a massive campaign to contest elections. Commenting on Governor’s role in dissolving the assemblies, he said the governor should sign the request made by Chief Minister for dissolving Punjab Assembly. Automatically, he said the assembly would be dissolved in 48 hours. He further stated that there is no need to wait for the signature of Governor of Punjab.
Assemblies' dissolution will give PTI 'an edge,' says Asad