Pakistani President Arif Alvi ordered parliament dissolved late on August 9 on the recommendation of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif as the country moves toward a general election by mid-November with former Prime Minister Imran Khan, the country's top opposition leader, in prison on a corruption conviction.
A statement from the president's office said he had disbanded parliament on the advice of Sharif, marking an end to the current government’s tenure.
The new interim prime minister must be announced within three days and elections held within 90 days, but the outgoing government has already warned they are likely to be delayed until next year.
Sharif said in his final speech to the National Assembly that he would send Alvi a letter analyzing the assembly, which is nearing the end of its five-year term.
Pakistani state radio on August 9 quoted Sharif as saying that consultations are under way to form an interim government. According to the report, Sharif has said that he is talking with the leader of the opposition in the National Assembly, Raja Riaz.
Under Pakistani law, the ruling and opposition parties of the parliament jointly elect the officials of the interim government.
Sharif said in his speech that after Khan was dismissed in April 2022, the parliament trusted him and the coalition government he leads to find solutions to the country’s problems.
Sharif claimed that the federal coalition succeeded in improving the economic and political situation of the country during its more than one year in office.
He said actions taken after last year's floods and the restoration of the loan program with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) were examples.
Pakistan last month secured a $3 billion bailout package with the IMF, potentially saving the country from defaulting on its debt repayments.
Earlier, Sharif wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter, that he faced immense challenges in the past 16 months.
"The coming together of Pakistan's political forces for a national agenda represents evolution of our democratic system," he said. "Given the seriousness of plethora of the crises from the unprecedented floods to saving the country from default to rebuilding Pakistan's diplomatic relations to fixing governance challenges, we used collective wisdom to navigate the treacherous landscape."
Long-term challenges remain, but Sharif said, "the way forward has clearly been identified and actions initiated in that direction."
His message did not mention Khan, who on August 8 was barred from politics for five years, according to an order by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) seen by Reuters and confirmed by a senior officer. The order said Khan was disqualified in line with his conviction.
Khan, a 70-year-old former national cricket star, was convicted by an Islamabad court on August 5 of concealing assets and was sentenced to three years in prison. Khan has appealed the conviction.
Khan's wife said her husband was well after seeing him on August 10 for the first time since his jailing, his lawyer said. Lawyer Naeem Panjutha said he and other members of Khan's legal team were denied access to him despite court orders, saying jail authorities told him that a meeting could only be granted to former first lady Bushra Bibi.