PDM govt has ‘no power to dissolve’ Sindh, Balochistan assemblies

• Rana Sanaullah hints at general elections in October this year.
• Says need "to take allied parties on board, whatever is decided in talks".
  
• "If teams reach a positive conclusion, it should be acceptable to all."

Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah has clarified that the federal government does not have the power to dissolve the provincial assemblies in Sindh and Punjab — a condition for holding early elections simultaneously across the country.

Speaking on Geo News programme Naya Pakistan on Friday, the interior minister said that the provincial assemblies in Sindh and Punjab would complete their constitutional term on August 13.

His remarks came hours after the second round of talks between the Pakistan Democratic Movement-led government and the PTI held in Senate’s Committee Room on the election date. The ruling parties and the PTI are set to hold the "final" round of talks on May 2 (Tuesday) after the former ruled out the possibility of a deadlock between the sides.

Last week, Chief Justice of Pakistan Umar Ata Bandial urged the ruling alliance and the opposition to sit together for talks on elections for the sake of the Constitution.

The apex court had directed the political parties to decide on the election date by April 26, but no progress was made till the deadline. In yesterday's hearing, the top court mentioned that it cannot ask parties to hold negotiations forcefully.

"The court cannot force [parties] on a dialogue. The court only wants implementation on the Constitution so that the dispute is resolved," CJP Bandial said.

But the PDM and Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman has decided to stay away from the talks as his party believes that the negotiations with the PTI would bear no fruit.

Earlier this month, Federal Minister for Planning Ahsan Iqbal said that elections should be held on time in October this year.

Reiterating his party’s stance, the security czar said that if the interim governments are formed in the provinces in August then the general elections would be possible in October this year.

Responding to a question, Sanaullah said that the PTI made a blunder by dissolving its assemblies in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab. The Punjab and KP assemblies were dissolved by the Imran Khan-led party on January 14 and 18, respectively.

The deposed premier, who was voted out of office in April last year after a no-confidence motion, on April 24 revealed that he dissolved the provincial assemblies of Punjab and KP after the former army chief General (retd) Qamar Javed Bajwa advised him to do.

Meanwhile, his party — however — "backtrack" on the party chief’s statement. The party's official Twitter account posted a screenshot of a Geo News' report regarding Khan's statement. It claimed that the report was "fake news".

Responding to a question, the interior minister said that if the negotiation teams reach a positive conclusion, it should be acceptable to all. Even if both the negotiations reach a conclusion, both the teams will take final approval from their party leadership.

“We have to take approval from the allied parties, whatever is decided in the negotiation,” he added.