Pakistan's premier confirms lower house will be dissolved Wednesday

KARACHI, Pakistan

Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif confirmed he will send a note to the president on Wednesday requesting him to dissolve the Parliament.

Speaking at a ceremony in capital Islamabad on Tuesday, Sharif said: “After completing our (government’s) term tomorrow, I will write and send to the president (Arif Alvi) to dissolve the assembly and then an interim government will take over.”

Sharif had already announced that the coalition government will pack up on Aug. 9, three days before expiry of the five-year term of the lower house, commonly known as the National Assembly.

The prime minister and the opposition leader are set to meet on Wednesday to finalize the name of the caretaker prime minister, who will serve until the next general elections.

According to the country's Constitution, elections are due within next 90 days after dissolution of the Parliament, however in given circumstances, especially after approval of fresh census results announced last month, on-time polls are highly unlikely.

The Election Commission of Pakistan, the country's top electoral body, requires at least four months for new delimitations in line with the latest census results, which could push the election date to next year.