Shehbaz, Zardari discuss political situation

Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif and former President Asif Ali Zardari on Wednesday discussed the overall political situation of the country.

The former president called upon the prime minister, PM Office media wing said in a press release.

During the meeting, Minister for Finance Ishaq Dar, Minister for Economic Affairs Sardar Ayaz Sadiq, Minister for Railways Khawaja Saad Rafique and Senator Salim Mandviwala were also present.

The meeting comes as the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has resigned from its National Assembly seats and dissolved the Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa assemblies, calling for early general elections in the country.

Earlier in the day, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) denotified 43 PTI lawmakers despite their request for the withdrawal of their resignations, as per ECP sources.

Also read: ECP denotifies 43 PTI lawmakers

The 123 PTI MNAs had resigned on April 11, 2022, when Imran was ousted through a no-confidence motion by the then united opposition and the incumbent ruling alliance.

The PTI and its allied PML-Q have also slammed the Election Commission of Pakistan's decision to appoint opposition nominee Mohsin Naqvi as caretaker chief minister of Punjab,

Media mogul Mohsin Naqvi was picked by the ECP after the ruling party and the opposition in the province failed to reach consensus on any name for the post.

On Tuesday, a large number of PTI workers and supporters responded to the call of their party chief Imran Khan, staging protests outside the ECP office in Lahore to denounce the body’s decision to appoint Naqvi.

The PTI and PML-Q have vowed to approach the courts over Naqvi's appointment.