Finance Minister Dar briefs President Alvi on country’s economic situation

Finance Minister Ishaq Dar on Wednesday briefed President Dr Arif Alvi on the overall economic situation of the country, a statement issued by the President’s Secretariat said.

During the meeting at Aiwan-i-Sadr, the minister also highlighted the steps taken by the government to provide relief to the most vulnerable segments of society.

PTI engaged in 'informal talks' with govt, says Fawad

During the meeting, various matters concerning finance, the economy, and the rehabilitation of flood affectees were also discussed.

The meeting comes two days after former information minister and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Fawad Chaudhry said that a line of communication between PTI and the federal government has remained open with informal talks over the schedule of general elections taking place.

He said he was given assurance that the decision on the dissolution of assemblies will be taken as per the directives of PTI Chairman Imran Khan.

“In the meeting, Moonis assured me that any delay in dissolving the Punjab Assembly was not an issue and the decision would be taken according to Imran Khan’s wishes."

Fawad mentioned that the party would hold further consultation with lawmakers of the Punjab Assembly with regard to the timing of the assembly dissolution.

Imran Khan to dissolve Punjab, KP assemblies in 'next few days': Qureshi

Earlier on Wednesday, former foreign minister and vice-chairman of Pakistan PTI Shah Mahmood Qureshi said that party chairman Imran Khan will give his go-ahead to dissolve Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) assemblies "in the next few days."

Addressing a press conference along with PTI leaders Asad Umar, Shireen Mazari, and others outside Imran's Lahore residence in Zaman Park, Qureshi said the party leadership called on Imran Khan and reposed its confidence in his decision regarding the dissolution of assemblies.

"During the meeting, the chairman said after meeting with the party's lower leadership, his conviction has been further strengthened that we cannot have early elections without dissolving both provincial assemblies," Qureshi said.

"Therefore, Imran Khan has decided to dissolve KP, and Punjab assemblies with the consultation of provincial leaderships so that the process of by-elections in these two provinces could be completed by the end of March 2023."

Qureshi admitted that the party has been holding backdoor negotiations with the government after PTI Chairman Imran Khan announced to dissolve assemblies.

"Messages were sent to the government while President Dr Arif Alvi also tried to play his role in the matter. But we could not narrow the gap between the government’s position and our demands,” he lamented.