Pakistan likely to go to polls in November, hints PM Shehbaz Sharif

Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif hinted that the general elections might be held in November after saying that he will hand over the charge to the caretaker set-up next month before the completion of the assembly’s tenure.

“Next month our government will complete its tenure, [but] we will leave before the completion of our tenure and an interim government will come in,” the prime minister said while speaking at the Government College Women’s University in Sialkot on Sunday, reported Dawn.

The five-year term of the incumbent parliament, the National Assembly, will end on August 12 at midnight.

According to Pakistani election laws, general elections should take place within 60 days if the elected house completes its constitutional tenure of five years.

If the National Assembly is dissolved prematurely, then elections are held within 90 days of the dissolution.

A few days ago, the prime minister had said that his government would complete its tenure which is ending on August 13.

According to reports, Shehbaz decided to end his tenure early on the advice of his ally Pakistan People's Party (PPP) leader Asif Ali Zardari.

''Zardari in a meeting with PM Shehbaz on Saturday asked him to dissolve the National Assembly a couple of days before the government completes its tenure so that elections can be held in November,'' a senior PPP leader told PTI on Sunday.

The five-year term of the National Assembly began when Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan was elected as the prime minister on August 12, 2018.

After his ouster due to a no-confidence motion passed in the parliament, a coalition of parties under the leadership of Shehbaz took over.

Nawaz might fight elections

On July 7, Pakistan’s law minister Azam Nazeer Tarar said that the lifetime disqualification of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif—who is on a self-imposed exile in London —has ended and he can now contest elections.

The 73-year-old has been living in London since November 2019 for medical treatment after a court allowed him a four-week reprieve.

The supremo of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) was serving a seven-year jail term in Lahore's Kot Lakhpat Jail when the high court allowed him to leave the country on medical grounds in November 2019.

Ever since the PML(N) came to power, there have been talks of Nawaz returning to Pakistan. Speculations have also been rife about Nawaz contesting for the premiership in this year’s general elections.

(With inputs from agencies)

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