INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Shahid Abbasi made the appeal during the closing session of the parliament
(File)Islamabad: Outgoing Pakistan Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi on Thursday made an appeal to uphold
and protect democracy in the country during the closing session of the Parliament, which completed its full term for only the second time in
the country's 71-year-old history.The country is set to hold general and provincial elections on July 25, with around 105 million people
registered to vote, according to the Election Commission."Pakistan's issues can only be resolved through a government which comes through
the will of the people," Mr Abbasi told Efe."We did experiments in the past but a non-representative government can never solve problems,"
he added.Pakistan has been ruled by military junta for more than half of its independent history.His Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) party,
in a Twitter post, also hailed the Parliament completion of its tenure, calling it a "success-story for democracy".Pakistan's first handover
of power between two parliaments took place in 2013, when the Pakistan People's Party-led government ended its term and the subsequent
elections saw the PML-N come to power.However, neither of the Prime Ministers elected during the two governments could finish their full
terms.Leader of Opposition, Syed Khursheed Shah, also praised the completion of the term although he emphasized that there was a need to
further strengthen democracy in the country.After the dissolution of the Parliament on Thursday night, an interim government led by former
Chief Justice Nasir-ul-Mulk will govern the country until the elections.
