PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Mahmood Khan advised Governor Haji Ghulam Ali on Tuesday to dissolve the provincial assembly, fulfilling the promise to Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan and paving the way for fresh elections. The development came days after Chief Minister Parvez Elahi dissolved Punjab Assembly after Governor Baligh Ur Rehman refrained from signing the summary sent to him. “I, Mahmood Khan, Chief Minister, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in pursuance of provisions of Article 112(1) of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, do hereby forward my advice for dissolution of Provincial Assembly of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on 17th January, 2023 as 2100,” the advice signed by the CM read.
The chief minister said that the decision to dissolve the assembly had been taken in the wider interest of Pakistan.
CM Mahmood’s advice for the dissolution of the Punjab Assembly is now pending with Governor Ali.
However, the assembly will stand dissolved in the next 48 hours as per the Constitution even if the governor does not approve it.
The PTI chairman had announced the dissolution of the assemblies — Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab — in November last year. However, the plans were delayed due to consultations with allies and countermeasures adopted by the ruling allies in the cen-tre.
Hours before the dissolution of the KP Assembly, National Assembly Speaker Raja Pervaiz Ashraf on Tuesday finally accepted the resignations of 35 members of the lower house of parliament — 34 belonging to the Imran Khan-led Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) as well as Awami Muslim League (AML) chief Sheikh Rashid.
Asad Qaiser, Qasim Suri, Pervez Khattak, Ali Amin Gandapur, Murad Saeed, Shehryar Khan Afridi, and Imran Khattak are among the lawmakers whose resignations have been accepted. The speaker also accepted the resignation tendered by Awami Mus-lim League (AML) chief Sheikh Rashid. –Agencies
