The change occurs a day before the KP and Punjab assemblies are supposed to be dissolved.
Imran Khan, the leader of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), declared on December 17 that the two provincial assemblies where his party now has power would be dissolved on December 23 to make room for new elections.
Mahmood stated today during a press conference outside the Hayatabad Sports Complex in Peshawar that Imran Khan would first decide the destiny of the Punjab Assembly.
“Consultation on the issue of the Punjab Assembly is currently under place. Following these deliberations, a decision regarding the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly will be made.”
The party leadership, according to the chief minister, with whom he maintained close contact, has not yet given him any orders regarding the dissolution.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly dissolution would follow Imran Khan’s directions, according to a tweet earlier in the day from Special Assistant to KP Chief Minister (SACM) Barrister Muhammad Ali Saif.
It is important to note that Imran is scheduled to present a “new plan of action” at a PTI demonstration that will take place outside the Punjab Governor House at 5 p.m. today.
Turmoil in Punjab
The coalition leaders moved quickly to stop Punjab Chief Minister Pervez Elahi from dismissing the Punjab Assembly after Imran announced the dissolution of the assemblies.
On Monday, the Punjab governor took a double-edged action by asking the chief minister to win the support of the Punjab Parliament while also receiving separate no-trust resolutions from PML-N and PPP MPs to prevent him from dissolving the assembly.
The governor’s directives, according to Punjab Assembly Speaker Sibtain Khan, are “illegal, against the provisions of the Constitution, and hence stand disposed of.”
The speaker reiterated in his two-page decision that the governor’s directives were in violation of Articles 54(3) and 127. Since October 23, 2022, the house has been in session in accordance with Articles 54(3) and 127. The order said that no new session could be called until the present one ended.
Later, on Wednesday, the Punjab governor referred to the speaker’s decision as being “unconstitutional.”