PM Shehbaz addresses federal cabinet after key meeting with coalition partners
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is currently addressing the federal cabinet in Islamabad today.
The premier’s address comes hours after he held an important meeting with coalition partners to discuss the possibility of talks with the opposition PTI and the date of the Punjab polls set by the top court.
The meeting was attended by JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman, Foreign Minister, PPP Chairperson Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and other important members of the federal coalition.
At the outset of his speech, PM Shehbaz recalled that the April 4 decision of a three-member bench of the apex court in the Punjab elections delay case had been rejected by the Parliament.
He asserted that the federal government’s stance was the same even today, saying that the coalition backed the SC’s 4-3 verdict.
“But the SC is still trying to take things forward with the same three-member bench,” he said. “And this is why we have gathered here today, to reiterate our decision.”
Impasse on elections
The development comes in the backdrop of an impasse regarding elections in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab — where the provincial assemblies were dissolved earlier this year. While the PTI has been adamant about holding polls in the provincial legislatures, the government maintains its stance on holding polls across the country on the same day.
Earlier this month, the Supreme Court (SC) — while hearing a PTI petition — had directed the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to hold general elections to the Punjab Assembly on May 14. However, the government had rejected the apex court’s orders.
After repeated back and forth last week, the SC on Thursday afforded a temporary respite to the country’s main political parties, giving them time till April 26 to develop a consensus on the date for elections to the provincial and national assemblies, so they could be held simultaneously across the country. The apex court will resume the hearing tomorrow (April 27).
More to follow