Pakistan president Arif Alvi meets caretaker law minister; discusses elections

Pakistan President Arif Alvi on Monday met the country’s caretaker Law Minister Ahmed Irfan Aslam to discuss the elections amid speculation that he may announce the date unilaterally, according to a media report. The meeting was held in continuation of the ongoing consultation process on elections between the president and the interim government, a week after their first meeting on the subject, Geo News reported. The continuation of the consultation process with good intent will be positive for democracy in the country, the president was quoted as saying in a statement posted on social media platform X (formerly Twitter). General elections are scheduled to be held in Pakistan within 90 days after the dissolution of the National Assembly, which was prematurely dissolved on August 9. Alvi was expected to give the election date at anytime despite controversy as to who was empowered to set such a date, Geo News reported. Alvi has insisted that elections should be held within 90 days of the dissolution of the National Assembly, which was announced on August 9. However, his opponents argue that after tweaks in the laws by the previous government, only the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) can announce an election date. The ECP already announced to complete delimitation by November 30 and then follow up with elections. Though no timeframe has been announced yet, elections might be possible in January. President Alvi invited Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sikandar Sultan Raja last month for a meeting to fix an appropriate date for general elections, but he refused to come over for a meeting. Interim Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar has also sided with the ECP and speaking on Geo News program Jirga, he said as per the law, deciding the date for general elections was the ECP’s prerogative.