ISLAMABAD: Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar has called for a Grand National dialogue among all stakeholders, including politicians, to bring down political heat and hold simultaneous elections for national and provincial assemblies.

Talking to media here in Islamabad on Thursday, he said Pakistan is facing serious economic and security challenges as well as political upheavals, which require unanimous of views among all the stakeholders, especially the political parties.

He said the democratic process is successfully continuing in the country and we should refrain from paving way for any undemocratic third option. He said simultaneous election for the national and four provincial assemblies is the only viable option to bring political and economic stability to the country.

The Law Minister said the Election Commission of Pakistan made a right move by withdrawing the election schedule in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and gave a new date of 8th October 2023 to hold polling for the national and all the provincial assemblies.

He said Article 254 of the Constitution provides that when any act or thing is required by the Constitution to be done within a particular period and it is not done within that period, the doing of the act or thing shall not be invalid or otherwise ineffective by reason only that it was not done within that period.

The Minister said the Constitution always provides ways to come out of crises. He said a fresh and digital census is underway in the country and its findings will also be compiled in next few weeks. He said this will also address concerns of the smaller provinces and provide a basis for delimitations of constituencies across Pakistan.

He added that we should not forget that the country is also facing security challenges on multiple fronts and holding elections requires massive deployment of law enforcement agencies, which is not possible at this point of time.