ISLAMABAD: President Arif Alvi has yet to convene the National Assembly despite the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs sending him a summary, sources said.
The president claims that the lower house of parliament is still incomplete due to non-allocation of some reserved seats, they added.
While the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has allocated reserved seats to political parties, it has not given a reserved quota to the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) after independent candidates backed by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) joined their ranks.
The ECP insists that the matter of SIC reserved seats is “being discussed by the commission”.
The insiders also said the president neither rejected nor accepted the summary and only communicated his verbal response to the matter.
The interim government insists that the NA meeting will be held on February 29, even though the President has not signed the summary under Article 91 of the Constitution.
Senior Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Ishaq Dar said in a statement that the speaker of the National Assembly could convene the session on February 29 if the president does not do so according to the constitution.
The Interim Federal Government says convening the National Assembly within 21 days of the general election is mandatory under Article 91(2) of the Constitution, according to sources.
If the president does not sign the summary, a meeting of the lower house will be held in accordance with the constitution on February 29, the sources said, citing the caretakers.
Earlier this week, Acting Minister for Information, Broadcasting and Parliamentary Affairs Murtaza Solangi said the first session of the new National Assembly could be convened on any date between February 22 and February 29.
According to the constitution, the President could convene a session of the National Assembly within 21 days of the date of election, the minister said while explaining the post-election procedures on a Pakistan Television talk show.
In response to a question, he said that a simple majority is required to form a government and the president does not have the authority to invite a person or a party to form a government. After the 18th Amendment to the Constitution, he explained, the office of the President represented the Federation.
According to the constitution, the president is obliged to convene a session of the National Assembly within 21 days from the day of the election.
In the first meeting of the NA, the incumbent Speaker administered the oath to the newly elected MNAs, followed by the election of the Speaker, Deputy Speaker and Prime Minister.
