Speaker to summon NA session on Feb 29 if president doesn’t: Dar

Senior leader of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), Senator Ishaq Dar, has asserted that if President Dr Arif Alvi fails to summon a National Assembly session, the constitutional prerogative allows the Speaker to convene the session on February 29.

Dar, addressing the media outside the Punjab Assembly, emphasised that according to constitutional mandates, a session of the National Assembly must be called within 21 days from the date of general elections, thereby underscoring the urgency of the matter.

He further highlighted that this principle extends to provincial assemblies as well, clarifying that if a governor fails to summon the session of a provincial assembly, similar procedures can be followed.

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The former finance minister refrained from delving into the intricacies of economic strategies, suggesting that such discussions are better suited for more appropriate forums.

Sources have revealed that Dr Arif Alvi is reportedly stalling the signing of a summary to convene the National Assembly session.

According to insiders familiar with the matter, the summary was dispatched to the president yesterday, yet Dr Alvi is purportedly asserting his authority to delay the process by up to 15 days.

It is understood that Dr. Alvi's stance hinges on his interpretation of constitutional provisions, believing that he holds the prerogative to defer the signing of the summary.

Key figures close to the situation disclosed that the president had been briefed on the constitutional imperative mandating the convening of the National Assembly by February 29.

Earlier in the day, PPP nominee Syed Owais Shah was elected as the 18th speaker of the Sindh Assembly after bagging 111 votes in favour.

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The election of the speaker and deputy speaker was held through a secret ballot under the now-former speaker Agha Siraj Durrani.

Around 147 members of the provincial legislature cast their vote today, however, nine PTI-aligned members and one lawmaker from the Jamaat-e-Islami did not participate in the polling process.

The MQM-P had nominated Sofia Shah, who managed to secure 36 votes only.

PPP's Anthony Naveed was elected as deputy speaker Sindh Assembly after bagging 111 votes. MQM-P's Rashid Khan secured 36 votes.

Anthony is the first deputy speaker of the provincial legislature from a minority group. After the victory, he embraced Speaker Owais Shah.

A day earlier, several new and young faces, who had won the recent general election in Sindh, were sworn in as lawmakers of the Sindh Assembly.