This is an archive article published on July 17, 2023
Pakistan PM Shahbaz Sharif announces govt will step down early, elections likely in November
PM Sharif has hinted that three-time prime minister and Pakistan Muslim League (N) leader Nawaz Sharif may return to the electoral fray in the upcoming polls.
Pakistan PM Shahbaz Sharif announced that his government would hand over the power to a caretaker setup before the completion of its tenure. (AP photo/Representational)
Pakistan Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif Sunday (July 16) announced that his government will hand over the reins to a caretaker administration before the completion of its term on August 12.
“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,” Sharif said while speaking at a government college in Sialkot on Sunday, Pakistani newspaper Dawn reported.
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General elections for the new government are likely to be conducted in November.
Nawaz to return?
PM Sharif also hinted that his ousted elder brother, three-time Prime Minister and Pakistan Muslim League (N) leader Nawaz Sharif, may return to the electoral fray in the upcoming polls.
In 2018, the Pakistan Supreme Court had barred Nawaz, who is currently absconding in London, from running for office for a lifetime. But a recently-passed law by Shehbaz’s government had limited the maximum time period of disqualification of parliamentarians to five years, paving the way for his possible comeback.
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“Nawaz Sharif Sahib will turn Pakistan into a progressive state if people provided him another opportunity to lead the country. Former prime minister Nawaz Sharif and the entire leadership of PML-N would change the destiny of the country by putting it on the path of progress and prosperity,” the PM told the gathering at Sialkot.
Decision after meeting with PPP
Sharif’s decision to step down early comes after his ally, Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leader Asif Ali Zardari, spoke to the PM. “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 news agency PTI on Sunday.
As per the country’s law, general elections must take place within 60 days if the National Assembly completes its constitutional tenure of five years. In the case of early dissolution, polls may be held within 90 days of the disbanding. A neutral caretaker government oversees the conduction of free, fair, and transparent elections in the country, as per Pakistan’s Constitution.
The five-year term of the incumbent National Assembly had commenced under the then-Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf government led by Imran Khan on August 12, 2018. Shahbaz Sharif’s government had taken charge in April 2022, after Khan lost a no-confidence vote in the Parliament.
Pakistan PM Shahbaz Sharif announced that his government would hand over the power to a caretaker setup before the completion of its tenure. (AP photo/Representational) 
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