In a statement released from the President House, Dr. Arif Alvi expressed reservations regarding the “tone and allegations” in the caretaker summary forwarded by PM Anwaarul Kakar.
“The tone of the caretaker prime minister is unacceptable,” remarked the president.
Dr. Arif Alvi emphasized that he serves as the head of the state under Article 41 of the Constitution of 1973. He mentioned waiting for 21 days to convene the National Assembly session to address the issue of reserved seats allocation.
“The reserved seats must be allocated within 21 days as per Article 51,” he stated.
In the meantime, the two-day agenda for the National Assembly’s inaugural session has been announced.
According to the schedule, the newly elected members will take the oath during the session set to commence at 10 am. Nomination papers for the Speaker and Deputy Speaker elections can be obtained from noon on that day.
The elections for speaker and deputy speaker are scheduled for March 1.
Due to an ‘incomplete house,’ National Assembly Speaker Raja Pervaiz Ashraf called for the inaugural sitting on Feb 29 after President Arif Alvi declined the summons.
In response to a summary from the Parliamentary Affairs Division, the president stated that as the lower house was incomplete, he could not convene the session as requested.
Sources suggested that President Alvi aimed to delay the session until the Election Commission of Pakistan issued a notification regarding the reserved seats of the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) involving PTI-backed lawmakers.
The Speaker will administer the oath to the newly elected National Assembly members. The schedule for the speaker and deputy speaker elections will also be announced during the inaugural session.
As per the Constitution, the first session of the National Assembly must be held within 21 days following the general elections on Feb 8. Section 91(2) states: “The National Assembly shall convene on the twenty-first day after a general election to the assembly is held, unless summoned earlier by the president.”
According to a senior official from the National Assembly Secretariat, the president is obligated to call the NA session within 21 days; otherwise, the secretariat has the authority to announce it. All necessary preparations for the new assembly’s first session have been made by the secretariat.