Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday said the current government's tenure will end on August 14 and the election commission will announce the date for the next elections. Earlier, there were fears that the current government may not hold elections on time, considering the economic and political crisis at home. Former Prime Minister Imran Khan, who was unseated last year in April, had been demanding early polls as he called the Sharif government "illegal" and "imported".
Sharif's remarks come just a day after his meeting with Pakistan Democratic Movement chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman who stressed the need for the dissolution of assemblies and holding of general elections on time, Dawn reported on Wednesday.
"I assure you that our government will end on August 14, and whenever elections happen, the ECP will announce it, and I hope that whichever government comes prioritises education," Sharif said during an address in Islamabad as per Dawn.
Interestingly, Sharif's announcement comes just days after it was reported that Imran Khan had sought a "guarantee" from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) that the general elections in the country will be held on scheduled time. A delegation of the global lender met Khan on Friday in Lahore to seek assurance and support for the key objectives and policies under the recently announced $3 billion bailout programme, Geo News channel reported on Saturday.
Khan asked the IMF to ensure that the general elections, scheduled to take place in October, will be held on time, Geo News reported citing sources. "What guarantee can you (IMF) give that the elections in the country will be held on time," Khan was quoted as saying.
The IMF representatives, as per the report, responded by saying that the global lender keeps a close eye on the situation in the country but "we cannot interfere too much in internal political matters".
The IMF executive board was scheduled to meet on Wednesday to review the $3 billion stand-by agreement for Pakistan, which was finalised at the end of June.
Pakistan expects the board to also release the first tranche of $1.1 billion as part of the loan programme.