The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly was dissolved on Wednesday, Jan. 18, after Governor KPK Haji Ghulam Ali signed the summary for the dissolution of the provincial assembly, moved by Chief Minister Mahmood Khan.
CM Mahmood had advised Governor Ali a day earlier to dissolve the provincial legislature, amid efforts to pave the way for general elections, as vowed by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan.
“I, Mahmood Khan, chief minister of 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 KP Assembly on January 17, 2023, at 17:00 hours,” read the summary sent to governor office on Tuesday.
The move comes less than a week after the dissolution of the Punjab Assembly as Khan has vowed to disassociate himself from the “current corrupt political system” by dissolving the two provincial assemblies where his party is in power.
The Governor Office sent a notification to CM Mahmood and Leader of the Opposition in the KPK assembly Akram Khan Durrani, reading that the KPK Assembly and provincial cabinet were dissolved with immediate effect under Clause 1 of Article 112 of the Constitution.
Clause 1 of Article 112 of the Constitution states that the governor must dissolve the provincial assembly if the chief minister advises so; and that if not acted upon by the governor, the provincial assembly shall stand dissolved forty-eight hours after the chief minister moves the summary.
The notification further said that the governor will appoint a caretaker chief minister in consultation with Mahmood and Durrani. The governor called has asked both of them to provide the names of their nominees for the position by Jan. 21.
Until the appointment of the caretaker chief minister, Mahmood will continue to hold office to carry out the day-to-day affairs of the province.
As per the constitution of Pakistan, new elections must be held within 90 days of the dissolution of a provincial assembly. Historically, Pakistan conducts federal and provincial elections simultaneously, but the constitution allows for separate poll dates as well.
PTI hopes by dissolving two of the country’s four assemblies, they could force Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s coalition government to announce immediate general elections.
“We will return with two-thirds majority not just in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa but all of Pakistan, and form a government on the basis of our performance,” CM Mahmood had said in a video message after advising the governor to dissolve the assembly.