Pages

Total Pageviews

Sunday, March 17, 2013

Pakistan's PPP-led civilian government completes term -Saturday March 16,2013


History was made in Pakistan on Saturday March 16,2013 with its Lower House — the National Assembly — and Pakistan Peoples Party-led coalition government, both completing a full five-year term — a first in the 66-yearsof the nation’s existence.

The National Assembly was scheduled to be dissolved late at night after a televised address to the nation by Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf.

The dissolution of the House, exactly 5 years after it met for the first time on March 17, 2008, is being billed as a historic milestone, given Pakistan’s frequent trysts with military dictatorships and machinations of the security establishment that have cut short the term of the National Assembly more than once in the past

For the first time a civilian government has completed a full 5-year term in office and will be handing over to another elected government in a country which has seen three bloodless military coups and four military rulers.


The PPP and the leading opposition party, Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz group) have both filed in their nominations for the caretaker prime minister.

According to Article 224 of the Constitution, the two sides have three days after the Assembly’s dissolution to come to an agreement, failing which the matter will automatically go to the eight-member parliamentary committee. If the committee also fails to reach a consensus, it will be up to the Election Commission to select a caretaker Premier.

Now after five years of uninterrupted civilian government — nothing less than a miracle in Pakistani politics — preparations are underway for the 2013 elections

The forthcoming elections are being speculated as a potential gamechanger. With Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaaf expected to upset the traditional two-party dominance

No comments:

Post a Comment