Legislative business: President summons Senate session
Government’s strategy to resolve the ongoing political crisis likely to dominate the debate
ISLAMABAD:
President Mamnoon Hussain on Monday summoned a session of the upper house of parliament for December 19 (Friday).
The 109th Senate session has been summoned a day after Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) call for a country-wide shut-down on December 18.
According to a statement issued by the presidency, the Senate session, which is slated to begin later this week, has been summoned on the advice of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.
The session will be prorogued on the conclusion of its business, it further added.
During the last session, opposition lawmakers had warned the government that the fledgling democratic system in the country was still vulnerable to threats.
In a veiled warning to the Pakistan Muslim League – Nawaz (PML-N) administration, the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) had made it clear that it would not come to the government’s rescue each time it is embroiled in a political crisis.
Despite the resumption of negotiations with PTI, the government is yet to constitute a judicial commission to probe irregularities in the electoral process which has been tainted with allegations of vote fraud.
Though the Senate has not announced the agenda for the upcoming session, discussion over the political stalemate and government’s strategy to resolve the protracted crisis are likely to dominate the session.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 16th, 2014.
President Mamnoon Hussain on Monday summoned a session of the upper house of parliament for December 19 (Friday).
The 109th Senate session has been summoned a day after Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) call for a country-wide shut-down on December 18.
According to a statement issued by the presidency, the Senate session, which is slated to begin later this week, has been summoned on the advice of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.
The session will be prorogued on the conclusion of its business, it further added.
During the last session, opposition lawmakers had warned the government that the fledgling democratic system in the country was still vulnerable to threats.
In a veiled warning to the Pakistan Muslim League – Nawaz (PML-N) administration, the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) had made it clear that it would not come to the government’s rescue each time it is embroiled in a political crisis.
Despite the resumption of negotiations with PTI, the government is yet to constitute a judicial commission to probe irregularities in the electoral process which has been tainted with allegations of vote fraud.
Though the Senate has not announced the agenda for the upcoming session, discussion over the political stalemate and government’s strategy to resolve the protracted crisis are likely to dominate the session.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 16th, 2014.