Daily Times

President Arif Alvi has returned the summary of caretaker parliamentary affairs ministry, objecting to the proposed meeting of the National Assembly scheduled for 10 am on February 26. The president has raised concerns, insisting that the process of allocating reserved seats for women and minorities must be completed before calling the National Assembly into session.

The move has set off a constitutional debate, with Speaker Raja Pervez Ashraf ultimately deciding to call the meeting on Thursday, February 29, citing Clause 2 of Article 91 of the Constitution.

This decision follows consultations with senior officers and constitutional experts of the National Assembly Secretariat, who reviewed the situation arising from the president’s refusal to sign the summary.

According to constitutional provisions, the meeting of the National Assembly must be convened within 21 days of the elections, and February 29 is the mandated date under Article 91.

If the National Assembly meeting proceeds as scheduled on February 29, the schedule for the new speaker will be released on the same day after the oath. Subsequently, on March 1, papers for the speaker’s election will be submitted, and on March 2, the speaker will be elected, along with the deputy speaker.

The process for submitting nomination papers for the election of the prime minister is slated for March 3, followed by the prime minister’s election in the National Assembly on March 4. The Election Commission of Pakistan will then conduct the election for the president on March 9. The constitutional timeline also necessitates the meeting of the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Assembly on February 29.