ISLAMABAD: As the ruling coalition and opposition Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) prepare for make-or-break talks on the timing of general elections, Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah has once again stated that holding elections on May 14 is not possible.
PTI Chairman Imran Khan has linked the PDM-led government demand to hold elections across Pakistan simultaneously with the dissolution of all assemblies, including the National Assembly, before May 14.
Sanaullah said all legislatures should be allowed to complete their constitutional tenure and added that negotiations are not held with conditions attached.
Talks between government and PTI
The PDM’s negotiating team proposed that the deal with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) be finalised and the current set-up be allowed to present the next federal budget instead of the caretaker set-up before going into the elections.
PTI leader Asad Umar warned that Pakistan and allied parties of the coalition federal government would suffer “if the last chance to dissolve all the assemblies is wasted” and urged the government to accept the PTI’s demands about dissolving assemblies before May 14.
The third round of negotiations is scheduled at 9 pm today, and the federal government has already termed Imran Khan’s demand for the dissolution of all the assembly by May 14 “impractical”.
The talks are being held to end a political impasse over the timing of general elections across Pakistan, which has fuelled political tensions, with the Supreme Court of Pakistan also urging the political parties to negotiate and find out a solution to the prevailing political turmoil.
