The top leadership of Pakistan’s two mainstream political parties, i.e., Pakistan Muslim League (PML-N) and Pakistan Peoples’ Party (PPP) with a history of love and hate relationship, met in Dubai recently and held marathon sessions on wide-ranging political issues, including the challenges the two sides likely to confront with, in the next general elections otherwise schedule in October, this year but the outcome remains inconclusive over holding it on time or extend it at least till March, next year, according to one of the insiders in Dubai, who is well aware of these talks and developments.
“They did discuss future interim set-up including the care-taker prime minister who could either be from the financial sector or a retired Supreme Court (SC) Judge,” the insider added. Since Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) assemblies had already been dissolved the present caretaker setup would continue till the elections. One of the retired SC judges confirmed to me that he was ‘approached’ for his consent.
They have almost reached a consensus over the dissolution of the assemblies —national and provincial in August — as per schedule but since three-time prime minister Nawaz Sharif has still not been legally cleared from contesting the next general elections due to his lifetime disqualification, despite the removal of legal hitch, he has yet not announced the date of his return to Pakistan. Thus, until and unless his name is cleared the party believes it will be very difficult for him to return and run the party campaign.
Under the circumstances, his possible return is very unlikely before mid-September as due to the court’s summer vacations his plea is very unlikely to be taken up before mid-August. Secondly, the party is also reluctant to file any application in such a circumstance before the Supreme Court as long as the sitting Chief Justice Umer Ata Bandial is there. He will retire on September 17, 2023.
The PPP and former President Asif Ali Zardari, on the other hand, are in favour of early elections i.e. within 90 days after the assemblies’ dissolution, as he and his party are not facing the challenges like PML-N or Sharifs.
Legally, election there are also differences of opinion on whether elections could be postponed for six months or a year unless there is an extraordinary situation like war or a major national calamity. According to sources, even though there are certain parameters of financial emergency as well, it will not be very easy to push elections further.
