Govt to step down before completion of its tenure next month: PM Shehbaz

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Sunday the government would step down before the completion of its term next month, creating uncertainty over the tenure of the incumbent National Assembly, Aaj News reported.

“Next month our government will complete its tenure. We will leave before the completion of our tenure and an interim government will come,” he said while addressing a laptop distribution ceremony at the Government College Women’s University in Sialkot on Sunday.

The statement comes days after the premier had hinted in an address to the nation that the government would complete its tenure.

The National Assembly is set to complete its five-year term on August 12, 2023. However, the prime minister has indicated that the transfer of powers to a caretaker setup will occur a bit before the assembly’s tenure.

While speaking at a cheque distribution ceremony in Lahore earlier in the day, PM Shehbaz said that if given an opportunity in the upcoming general elections, the entire PML-N leadership and party supremo Nawaz Sharif would “change the destiny” of the country by taking it on the path of progress and prosperity.

He said they would accept the public mandate in the upcoming polls and urged the people to take their decisions after looking into certain facts and by juxtaposing the performance of the PML-N governments with that of the PTI’s four years.

Addressing a ceremony to distribute laptops under PM’s Youth Laptop Scheme 2023 at Government College Women University in Sialkot, the premier urged women to come forward and ramp up their vital roles in different fields of life and contribute to the economy’s progress.

He said Rs 5 billion were allocated for projects related to women’s empowerment. “No nation can make progress if women are not made productive part of society.”

He said in the past, his government had spent a substantial amount on the medical education of female students, and the investment in women’s education would continue.

If people gave them a chance in the next election, our government would bring revolution in the field of education, and many students would be given laptops, he remarked.

He said the laptops were given as recognition of the hard work and talent of the students. He added that the laptops were distributed based on merit in the past as well.

As Khadim e Aala Punjab, he said he always wanted to share the resources with other provinces as the progress and prosperity of the country depended upon shared development.

He said 100,000 laptops had already been distributed, while another 100,000 laptops would be awarded in the current year.

He asserted that the people should decide in the general elections after evaluating what had happened in the country in the last five years.

He thanked Finance Minister Ishaq Dar for ensuring the allocation of funds to import laptops for students.

He said students would be given more laptops and scholarships, and laboratories and research institutes would be set up in educational institutions.

Shehbaz Sharif said Muslims were left behind in different fields of education while the West moved ahead, and it was time for reflection and action in the right direction. He called on students to work hard and show humbleness, and Allah will help them in their efforts.

He said after the financial assistance from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the government had a cushion, and it decreased petrol prices on Saturday.

Minister for Defence Khawaja Muhammad Asif said that the dynamic and active role of the prime minister during the past fifteen months was extraordinary.

Chairman Higher Education Commission, Dr Mukhtar Ahmed, in his remarks, said that HEC had actively played its part in the distribution of about one million laptops among the students on merit.

He said female enrollment in universities had increased by more than 48 percent, and the prime minister’s laptop scheme was the most encouraging initiative.

Earlier, Punjab police personnel presented a guard of honour to the students and teachers as a token of respect.