ISLAMABAD: Chief Ministers of all four provinces on Saturday agreed that the elections of national and provincial assemblies will be held in the country on the same day, however, the deadlock over dissolution of all provincial assemblies on the same day continues, Dispatch News Desk (DND) reported.
In a meeting held at the Prime Minister House in Islamabad on Saturday‚ at proposal of the Prime Minister the chief ministers agreed‚ in principle‚ that the elections of national and provincial assemblies will be held in the country on the same day.
The sources said that during the meeting, Chief Minister Punjab Shahbaz Sharif agreed to dissolve all the assemblies on March 19. However, he demanded of the Prime Minister to change chief secretaries and IGs of all the provinces.
While some sources claimed that despite four chief ministers having deliberated over the issue with Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf, the standoff over dissolution of all provincial assemblies on the same day continues.
According to them, CM Punjab told the meeting that he would make any decision to dissolve the Punjab Assembly only after consultation with his elder brother and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Chief Nawaz Sharif.
On the other hand, Balochistan Chief Minister Nawab Aslam Raisani also threatened that he would not be sending advice for assembly’s dissolution on March 19.
Sources said that he was angry, as he could not get assurance to address certain issues.
Earlier, Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf invited chief ministers of all four provinces to discuss the possibility of dissolution of assemblies on one day as well as questions relating to the caretaker set-up.
The PM Ashraf also hosted a luncheon in honor of all four chief ministers after the current assemblies, the federal and provincial governments complete their five-year term.
During the meeting, a recommendation to dissolve all provincial assemblies on a single day and matters relating to forthcoming general elections in the country were also discussed.
The meeting expressed the confidence that all matters relating to the appointment of caretaker set-ups at the Federal and Provincial levels would be resolved amicably.
The Prime Minister said that Saturday’s gathering was a good omen for promoting democratic values in the country. He expressed the confidence that all issues relating to appointment of caretaker set-ups would be resolved amicably.
Meanwhile, the Chief Ministers congratulated the Prime Minister on the completion of constitutional tenure. The Prime Minister reciprocated the gesture and commended them on completion of tenures by all the provincial assemblies.
DND
