Political parties are urging the government to find a constitutional solution to the political impasse created by sit-ins of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT). Khursheed Shah, Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly, has created turmoil in the PML-N ranks by stating that the PPP would support the Prime Minister calls for mid-term elections if it is done voluntarily and without coercion.
Background interviews with PML-N leaders reveal that the party was taken by surprise Khursheed Shah's statement in spite of the fact that the resolution passed by the joint session of parliament was not an endorsement of the Prime Minister or the PML-N but was generic in supporting democracy and the Constitution.
Khursheed Shah stated the following day that another option was to reduce the term of government from five years to four-year which would require a constitutional amendment. PML-N stalwarts are baffled at what they see as a vole face given that PPP Co-Chairman Asif Ali Zardari had promised full support to the Prime Minister and the two had agreed to continue the status quo till the end of the five-year term of the incumbent PML-N government.
However, PML-N's Rana Afzal said the statement made by Opposition Leader Syed Khurshid Shah with respect to mid-term elections was his individual view and nothing to do with the PPP. Khursheed Shah did not speak as spokesman of PPP, therefore, his view should be considered his individual statement, Afzal added. Justice Wajihuddin Ahmed (Retd) while speaking to Business Recorder said the Prime Minister should dissolve the National Assembly and announce a date for mid-term elections or else reach a settlement with the PTI and PAT.
Talking to Business Recorder, PTI leader Dr Arif Alvi said that mid-term elections should be held after proper electoral reforms. He said the PML-N government should announce mid-term elections and give a time frame to the Parliamentary Committee on Electoral Reforms, constituted two and half months ago, to prepare the draft for electoral reforms. The Committee can complete the draft on electoral reforms even within 15 days, he added. In response to a query Alvi said the PTI will continue to demand the Prime Minister's resignation and audit of votes cast on 30 NA seats.
Another PTI lawmaker, Ali Muhammad Khan, said the ruling party "has lost the confidence of the people and has failed to deliver public services to masses". "I think, mid-term is an option. The government should give a timeframe of a maximum period of three months to the Parliamentary Committee for completing its draft on electoral reforms and subsequently announce a date for mid-term elections," he added.
Senator Zahid Khan of Awami National Party said that his party would not support the mid-term elections. To compel a sitting government to hold elections is against democratic norms, he added. Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) Senator Haji Ghulam Ali Bilour said that the mid-term elections were not the answer to the issues facing the country today. The new government could also face an identical situation with opposition parties clamouring for mid-term elections one and a half year down the line, he said, adding that the country simply cannot afford so many elections. Haji Ghulam Ali Bilour urged all political parties should sit together and find a solution to the crises facing the country.
Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) MNA Abdul Rashid Godil said that his party has not taken any decision on this issue so far and added that the decision would be taken by the party's Rabita Committee. An official of the Election Commission of Pakistan stated that they have decided to introduce electronic voting machines but their purchase to installation would take two years.