Islamabad, Apr 24 (PTI) Pakistan's Information Minister on Monday rejected reports that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif would seek a vote of confidence from Parliament in the middle of a tussle with the top judiciary.

Marriyum Aurangzeb took to Twitter to dispel the impression of the vulnerability of the premier and the need to seek a vote to show that he enjoyed the trust of the majority.

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She said that no consultation had taken place on the topic, adding that there was no need for it.

“The unanimous candidate of the people, the party (and) the coalition parties, Shehbaz Sharif, had taken a vote for being the leader of House in the National Assembly on April 11, 2022,” she said, referring to the date the PML-N president was elected prime minister.

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The information minister went on to say that a fabricated rumour was not a fact and urged the media to refrain from reporting things concerning the premier without first verifying them.

Her tweet followed after several media channels reported that Prime Minister Shehbaz had decided to go to the Parliament and seek a fresh mandate.

The speculations came on the back of the rejection of a money bill that reflected badly on the strength of the government in the parliament.

The National Assembly on April 13 rejected the Charged Sums for General Election (Provincial Assemblies of the Punjab and the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) Bill 2023 with a majority vote after Finance Minister Ishaq Dar informed the house that the standing committee had recommended not to approve the bill he introduced on April 10.

The rejection echoed in the Supreme Court which observed on April 19 while hearing a plea that the premier always must hold the majority in the National Assembly.

The court already ordered an election in the Punjab province on May 14 but the government is dragging its foot to postpone the poll citing economic constraints and security reasons.

Former Prime Minister Imran Khan has been pushing for snap elections in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the provinces where his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party ruled till recently.

The PTI dissolved the Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa assemblies on January 14 and 18, respectively, in a bid to force the ruling PDM coalition in Islamabad to hold early general elections in the country.

Parliament and the judiciary have also locked horns over the holding of elections in the two provinces, as the cash-strapped government has refused to authorise the funds to meet the expenditures amidst the economic crisis facing the country.

The PTI is determined to press for polls in the provincial legislatures, but the government maintains its stance on simultaneous elections across the country.

The National Assembly will complete its five-year term in August this year. According to the Constitution, elections shall be held within 90 days after the dissolution of the lower house. This means that the election must be held by mid-October. The last general election was held in July 2018.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)