Power handed over to caretaker government as polls loom

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Muslim League (PML-N) government completed its term Friday for only the second time in the country's history, with a caretaker administration to take over ahead of polls set for late July.

"Completion of this tenure is a success story for democracy in Pakistan," the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz party (PML-N) said in a statement on Facebook shortly before the lower house and cabinet were dissolved at midnight.

"The caretaker government will ensure holding of free and fair parliamentary elections slated for July 25," a senior official working with the National Assembly told AFP.

A second government official also confirmed the date, saying the process of picking the caretaker cabinet was in motion.

Pakistan completed its first ever democratic transfer of power following elections in 2013, when the government headed by the Pakistan People's Party handed over to the PML-N, following a landslide victory.

Tensions are mounting in the run-up to the summer's elections following the ousting of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif by the Supreme Court on corruption charges last July.

The general elections are expected to pit the PML-N against its arch-rival the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party led by former cricket star turned populist firebrand Imran Khan.

PTI is vowing to clean up rampant corruption, while investing in education and healthcare as Khan inches closer to his years-long dream of leading the country as prime minister.

Despite the myriad court rulings against the PML-N, the party has bagged a number of recent by-elections, showing it will likely remain a powerful force.