NA farewell session likely to kick off on 20th

ISLAMABAD:

The farewell session of the National Assembly is expected to be started on July 20 (Thursday).

In that session, there will be important lawmaking including electoral reforms as well as farewell speeches.

According to the NA Secretariat sources, the farewell session of the lower house of parliament is likely to be convened on Thursday.

The session will continue until the dissolution of the assembly.

Instructions have been issued to the NA Secretariat.

A summary for this purpose is likely be sent to President Dr Arif Alvi on Wednesday (today).

The sources said the session would include important lawmaking, group photo sessions and farewell speeches of the members of the assembly.

The Electoral Reforms Bill will be passed on July 24 in the NA on July 26 and after approval by the lower and upper houses of parliament, it will be sent to the president for approval on the same day.

The heads of other parliamentary parties including PPP chairman Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari and estranged PTI leader Raja Riaz are also expected to address the session.

Recently. a federal minister had categorically stated that there would be no extension in the term of the NA; rather the national and two provincial legislatures may be dissolved a few days before the end of their term to give an additional 30 days to political parties to run their election campaigns.

“There will be no extension in the NA’s term. The assembly is completing its term. We have even kept the option of early dissolution of the assembly open,” Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar said while talking to some journalists after a meeting of the Parliamentary Committee on Electoral Reforms earlier this month.

Tarar, who belongs to the ruling PML-N, however, clarified that a decision about the early dissolution of assemblies had not been taken yet.

“As far as early dissolution of the assembly is concerned; no one has ilm-e-ghaib [knowledge of the unknown]. It depends on the given situation,” he added.

PPP’s Commerce Minister Naveed Qamar. who was also walking out of the conference room after attending the meeting. revealed that it was his party’s proposal to dissolve the remaining legislatures on August 8, four days before the completion of their five-year term.

“The PPP has proposed dissolving the National Assembly and two provincial assemblies -- Sindh and Balochistan -- on August 8. This proposal has already been under consideration by the ruling coalition parties as it will give them three months to run their election campaigns,” he said.