President summons NA session on August 13

PTI claims 180 seats as GDA throws weight behind Imran

ISLAMABAD/KARACHI: As President Mamnoon Hussain called the National Assembly to meet on August 13, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf on Thursday claimed that it has achieved simple majority in the National Assembly after it garnered the support of the Grand Democratic Alliance (GDA) and the Balochistan National Party-Mengal (BNP-M).

The development came after Caretaker Prime Minister Justice (retd) Nasirul Mulk sent a summary to the president, recommending the first National Assembly session to be convened on August 13.

Speaker Ayaz Sadiq will preside over the session. He will also administer the oath to the newly elected members. After that Sadiq will take the oath as a member and the senior member of the assembly will administer the oath to him.



He will then oversee the election of the speaker of the national assembly and then under the supervision of the newly-elected speaker, deputy speaker of the house will be elected.

The newly elected speaker will announce the name of the leader of the house (prime minister).

Meanwhile, the GDA officially announced its support for the PTI to form government at the Center and said they would vote for Imran Khan and support the PTI nominated candidates for the speaker, deputy speaker.

The development came after PTI leaders Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Jahangir Khan Tareen and Arif Alvi held a meeting with Pir Pagara at the Kingri House on Thursday.

“Imran Khan has stood up for the betterment of the country, so we don’t want to create a stumbling block in his way to create a new Pakistan,” said Pir Pagara while speaking to media.

Syed Sadaruddin Shah Rashdi, Ghous Bux Mahar, Fahmida Mirza, Zulfiqar Mirza and Ali Mohammad Mahar were among other GDA leaders who attended the meeting.

The meeting discussed the formation of the government at the Center and other issues related to alleged rigging in the elections in Sindh and nomination of opposition leader in the Sindh Assembly.

Qureshi on the occasion said, “We came here to convey Imran Khan’s message to Pir Sahib who has assured his full support. We are thankful to GDA leaders and will work with them for the betterment of Sindh.”

Qureshi was of the view that Imran had sought Pir Pagara’s support for the formation of the government and the latter has unconditionally agreed to help Khan.

“Our main motive is to get rid of corruption and we jointly work to make difference in country,” he remarked.

Responding to a question about alleged rigging, Qureshi added that the PPP had gotten more seats than the 2008 and 2013 general elections, so its protest was irrational.

“PPP has gotten such a mandate, which it could not even secure after the assassination of Benazir Bhutto,” he said, adding that the people in Sindh voted for GDA candidates, but the result was tempered in favour of the PPP.

“In this election, the PPP used money and influence to win the seats,” the PTI leader said, adding the PTI would also form the government in Punjab and K-P and would sit on the opposition benches in Sindh.

In Islamabad, PTI Spokesperson Fawad Chaudhry that the PTI had now got the required simple majority to form the next governments at the Centre and in Punjab.

“The PTI has the required 172 number after the announcement of the Balochistan National Party-Mengal (BNP-M) to become part of PTI-led coalition at the Centre,” he said while addressing a news conference outside the residence of the PTI chief.

“In the National Assembly, we have 179 or 180 members and so now there will no need of second round of votes in the National Assembly,” he added

“In Punjab, 27 members-elect of the Punjab Assembly out of total 29 have joined the PTI and this we have reached the figure of 186 members,” he said, adding for the Punjab chief minister’s slot the PTI had absolute majority.

About the decision of PM-designate not to live in the PM House, the PTI secretary information said that it had not been decided that Khan would either live in the Punjab House or the PM house or somewhere else.



“It is an on-going consultative process and it has not been finally decided where and how Imran will reside,” he said, adding that there were issues of security.

About the summoning of session of the National Assembly, he said that it was the duty of the caretaker government to summon session as it had already moved summary for August 13.

Chaudhry also said that a meeting of the PTI’s parliamentary party of Sindh was held today and the prime minister-in-waiting had advised MNAs- and MPAs-elect to focus on interior Sindh. “There is a political gap in Sindh and the PTI will fill this gap,” he added.

Responding to a question, he said the parliamentary party had given the authority to the PTI chairman to nominate candidates for the slot of Punjab CM and speaker of the province and he had yet to announce the nominations.

Moreover, the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa governor also called the provincial assembly session on the same day.