• Mahmood Khan tells cabinet meeting dissolution inevitable to get rid of ‘corrupt group’
• Fawad asks ECP to ensure polls in both provinces within stipulated time

PESHAWAR: The much-anticipated summary for the dissolution of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly was sent by Chief Minister Mahmood Khan to the governor on Tuesday night.

“I, Mahmood Khan, Chief Minister, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, in pursuance of provisions of Article 112(1) of the Constitution of Islamic Republic of Pakistan, do hereby forward my advice for dissolution of Provincial Assembly of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on 17th January, 2023 at 2100 hours,” reads the CM’s summary.

Under the said provision of the Constitution, the assembly will automatically stand dissolved if the governor doesn’t give his assent to the chief minister’s advice. PTI chief Imran Khan had on multiple occasions linked the KP Assembly’s dissolution with that of the Punjab legislature.

The 145-member KP Assembly included 95 members from the ruling PTI, Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal Pakistan 14, 11 of the Awami National Party, seven of the PML-N, four independents, one each from the PML-Q and Jamaat-i-Islami, Balochistan Awami Party four, JUI-F three and PPP five.

Earlier in the day, the chief minister had told the cabinet’s last meeting that the dissolution was inevitable to get rid of the “corrupt group” as the country was passing through an uncertain situation due to the “imported government”. He also claimed the PTI would get a two-thirds majority in the upcoming general elections.

Mr Khan had told the cabinet that the summary for dissolving the assembly would be forwarded to Governor Haji Ghulam Ali on Tuesday night. He also expressed anguish over a statement of Leader of the Opposition in the KP Assembly Muhammad Akram Khan Durrani, saying nothing could be achieved with such “baseless and false statements”.

Mr Durrani had claimed on a private TV channel that CM Khan had sent a message through an “important person”, requesting the opposition leader to submit a no-confidence motion against the CM to save it from dissolution. He further said he could have moved the motion, but “this man and his personality” were not suitable for a chief minister.

The law and order situation was worsening by the day, he remarked, adding the chief minister and his ministers were paying extortion to extortionists every month. “We cannot afford this man (Mahmood Khan) for even an hour anymore,” he maintained.

Earlier in the day, PTI senior leader Fawad Chaudhry had told the media in Lahore that CM Khan would shortly move a summary seeking dissolution of the KP Assembly, and the PTI hoped the governor would not waste time like the Punjab governor and notify it quickly.

Mr Chaudhry insisted the PTI had dissolved two of its provincial assemblies and the Election Commission of Pakistan must ensure elections were held within the stipulated time.

“The PTI will not tolerate a delay of even a day in the elections,” he said.

Published in Dawn, January 18th, 2023