ISLAMABAD: National Assembly Speaker Raja Pervaiz Ashraf moved to set the date of the lower house of parliament’s first meeting for 10 AM on February 29 in reaction to the president’s rejection.
Several political circles have criticized President Arif Alvi over his decision to cancel the meeting, claiming a “incomplete house.” The president has been advised not to abuse his position as head of state by the PML-N and PPP.Speculators have surmised that the president’s hesitation to call the meeting could be related to the Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) much-anticipated notice on the Sunni Ittehad Council’s (SIC) reserved seats. Many parliamentarians, including those supported by the PTI, have joined the SIC.
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The National Assembly’s first session must meet within 21 days of the February 8 general elections, under constitutional restrictions. The National Assembly “shall meet on the twenty-first day following the day on which a general election to the assembly is held, unless sooner summoned by the president,” according to Section 91(2) of the Constitution.
The president must convene the National Assembly session within the allotted time, underlined a top official from the National Assembly Secretariat. If this isn’t done, the secretariat may announce the meeting on its own. The secretariat has finished all of the arrangements for the new assembly’s first meeting.
The president is required by the 18th Amendment to call a meeting of the NA within 21 days. This clause was added in 2002 following the late military dictator Pervez Musharraf’s delays in calling the NA to order. The official stated that the president is not able to stop its proceedings because of a “incomplete” NA.
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As the president waits for the SIC to allot ten reserved seats to women, it has been noted that more seats are still unfilled as a result of numerous candidates challenging polls from different constituencies.
Media representatives have been invited by the National Assembly Secretariat’s media wing to cover Thursday’s opening session of the 16th National Assembly.
In addition, an open hearing has been scheduled by the Pakistani Election Commission for Tuesday to discuss the Sunni Ittehad Council’s (SIC) appeal about the distribution of reserved seats in the national and provincial parliament.