President summons unscheduled NA session

NA to convene hours after the NRO hearing on Friday.

ISLAMABAD:

It seems the government is bracing for an adverse judgement in the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) case on Friday.

The same day that the Supreme Court hears the case regarding the contentious Swiss letter, President Asif Ali Zardari has summoned the 46th Session of the National Assembly.

According to the tentative schedule for the fifth parliamentary year of parliament, the 46th session of the lower house was scheduled to meet on October 12. However, in a surprising move, the president on Tuesday summoned the National Assembly session on October 5 — hours after the crucial hearing at the apex court.

During the last hearing of the NRO implementation case, the Supreme Court had warned of contempt of court proceedings against Prime Minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf if he fails to write a letter to Swiss authorities, asking them to reopen graft cases against President Zardari.

What to expect?

The first day of the upcoming session will present before the ruling coalition multiple challenges both from the opposition and its coalition partners including the Awami National Party (ANP).

ANP had boycotted the last session of the lower house over the promulgation of the Sindh local government ordinance and is expected to vent its anger given that the ordinance has been approved by the Sindh Assembly.

“We boycotted the proceedings of both the sessions (National Assembly and Senate) last month due to differences with the ruling PPP but it is more likely that we would attend the upcoming session and raise the issue,” Senator Haji Muhammad Adeel of the ANP told The Express Tribune.

Senator Adeel said that his party had already asked for the allocation of seats on the opposition benches of the Sindh Assembly and that they would vigorously use the upcoming session of the National Assembly to highlight their point of view.

On the other hand, the opposition Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) is expected to press the government over the issue of Balochistan.

Leader of Opposition in the National Assembly Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan had announced earlier that his party would table a resolution in the lower house seeking formation of an All Parties Commission on Balochistan’s law and order situation.

Nisar said that PML-N’s resolution was meant to unite political forces, including those who have no representation in parliament, for resolving the issues of Balochistan’s disgruntled leaders.

In addition, the PML-N is also expected to move another resolution seeking a monthly revision of petroleum prices instead of the current practice of weekly adjustment. The resolution would also demand elimination of taxes collected by the government (including the development levy) and other such charges which have nothing to do with the product itself.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 3^rd, 2012.