KARACHI: The Sindh Assembly stood dissolved on Friday after Governor Kamran Tessori signed the summary forwarded to him by outgoing Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah for its dissolution, bringing an end to the PPP government in the province.

As per the law, Mr Shah will continue to hold the office till the appointment of a caretaker chief minister. However, his cabinet stands dissolved.

According to the Constitution, the governor shall dissolve the provincial assembly if so advised by the chief minister; and the provincial assembly shall, unless sooner dissolved, stand dissolved at the expiration of forty-eight hours after the chief minister has so advised.

The outgoing CM and Opposition Leader Rana Ansar, who belongs to the Muttahida Qaumi Move­ment-Pakistan, are expec­ted to hold consultations regarding the caretaker set-up in the province.

It is widely believed that the PPP and MQM-P, the second largest opposition party in the provincial assembly, would reach consensus over the candidate for the office of caretaker chief minister.

Rana Ansar, who was earlier the party’s parliamentary leader in the assembly, was appointed Leader of Opposition a couple of weeks before the dissolution of the assembly, replacing Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf’s Haleem Adil Shaikh.

Mr Shaikh along with other PTI members, except for nine dissidents, screened themselves fearing arrest and did not turn up in the assembly since PTI Chairman Imran Khan’s arrest in the wake of May 9 violence.

Earlier, during the farewell session of the assembly, the chief minister said he would request the governor to dissolve the assembly immediately after the last sitting of the legislature.

He came down heavily on the former PTI-led federal government, saying that attempts were made to prevent the provincial government from functioning. “Your arrest is one of the proofs,” he told Speaker Agha Siraj Durrani who has been behind bars for years in a case.

Published in Dawn, August 12th, 2023