President Arif Alvi has dissolved Parliament on the recommendation of Pakistan Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif, the Office of the President of Pakistan has announced.

Alavi signed a recommendation sent by Sharif late on Wednesday half an hour later, paving the way for the formation of a caretaker government that would oversee the holding of general elections within 90 days of the dissolution of parliament.

The move came 3 days before the end of the 5-year term of Parliament on 12 August, and the Union Cabinet was automatically dissolved after signing the agreement.

Sharif will continue as caretaker prime minister until the interim prime minister takes over.

Pakistan’s Prime Minister and Opposition Leader Raja Riyadh are expected to meet on Thursday to finalize the process and elect an interim prime minister who will hold the post until the next general election.

Parliament has been dissolved amid expectations that the next elections will be postponed until next year, especially after the approval of the new census results announced last July.

In his speech at the farewell session of the House of Representatives on Wednesday, Sharif thanked all the members of Parliament who had faith in him.

Sharif said he would write to the president tonight recommending the dissolution of parliament to prepare for the formation of a caretaker government until the next election next October.

The speech came before the end of Sharif’s 16-month constitutional tenure, which he described as the toughest test of his career.