KARACHI: Chairman Senate, Muhammad Sadiq Sanjrani on Saturday affirmed that next general election would be conducted on time immediately after the completion of delimitation process on the basis of new census.

While talking to media at the mausoleum of Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the chairman Senate said that PDM coalition government was consisted of almost all the political parties that had taken decisions in this regard.

The previous coalition government in the Council of Common Interests, also granted approval to the census 2023 being cognizant of the constitutional requirement of delimitation of electoral constituencies on the basis of new census data, he recalled adding that now Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) would carry out delimitation of constituencies on fresh census data.

As soon as delimitation exercise is completed, the ECP would announce the date for next general election, he maintained reiterating that next general election would take place and on the right time as the ECP would conduct the election and the nation should remain contented.

The Upper House of the parliament is present as the representative of all the federating units of Pakistan and it will continue working to ensure the rights of all the four provinces of the country during the tenure of the caretaker government, Sanjrani stated.

Senate is a constitutional body and it does not have executive authority but senators as representatives of the people were effectively raising their voice on the issues concerning the country and the nation while as chairman of the Upper House he was also playing his role, the Senate chairman said.

Responding to a query on the election of the president, the chairman Senate said that though the tenure of the incumbent president was being completed on September 09, 2023, the Constitution provides for continuity of the outgoing president till the election of the new president.

He added that following the general election in the country, the electoral college for the presidential election would come into being with the formation of National and provincial assemblies and the election for the next president would also be conducted subsequently as well.

Pakistan is on the path of democratic progress and it will keep moving forward and things will improve day by day, he said and added that the homeland has made progress in 77 years and there was a bright future ahead as Pakistani are a determined and strong nation and it would cope with the most unfavourable circumstances successfully and the country would keep moving ahead on path of progress.

On another query about Balochistan, Sanjrani said that Balochistan had a vast area and it required billions to carry out development work across the province. There are many mega development projects completed in the province while a number of projects are under completion and the process of progress is on the right track, he observed and acknowledged that more measures and resources were required for the development of Balochistan.

Sanjrani said that Balochistan enjoys representation at every forum and elected representatives of the province were very vocal on issues of the province. The nomination of the caretaker prime minister from the province is another initiative that will help alleviate the sense of deprivation from the population of Balochistan, he asserted.

Earlier, the chairman along with members of the Senate and officials paid a visit to the grave of the founder of Pakistan Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah, laid a floral wreath on the grave and offered Fateha. He also penned down comments in the visitors’ book.