ISLAMABAD: The National Assembly Secretariat has summoned the session of the lower house of the parliament on February 29 at 10 am after President Arif Alvi refused to sign the summary of the session, citing the need to first resolve the issue related to reserved seats.
In a statement released on Monday, the secretariat clarified that the NA session is mandated to convene within 21 days after the general elections as per Article 91 of the Constitution.
Officials from the secretariat said that although the President could have called for the session on the 21st day, he chose not to do so.
Furthermore, the NA secretariat emphasized that neither the President nor the Speaker’s notification is necessary to convene the session on the 21st day after polling.
Earlier today, President Dr Arif Alvi returned the summary of convening the National Assembly (NA) session, asking for notification of reserved seats first.
After the President’s refusal, the Speaker of the National Assembly, Raja Pervaiz Ashraf, has decided to summon the inaugural session of the lower house on February 29, as per Clause 2 of Article 91 of the Constitution, to ensure compliance with the constitutional requirement to convene the session within 21 days after the elections.
Resolve Reserved Seats Issue Before National Assembly Session: President
Despite receiving a summary from Caretaker Prime Minister Anwarul Haq Kakar requesting the summoning of the National Assembly session, President Arif Alvi returned the summary, citing the need to first resolve the issue related to reserved seats.
