Pakistan Parliament to Convene on February 29, Fulfilling Constitutional Obligation

Pakistans newly elected parliament will hold its inaugural session on February 29, fulfilling the constitutional requirement to convene within 21 days of the general election. The session will mark a crucial step in the countrys democratic process.

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Islamabad, February 25: The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party's senior leader, Ishaq Dar, announced on Sunday that the maiden session of the elected parliament will be summoned on February 29, fulfilling the constitutional requirement. As per the law, the first session of the newly elected assembly should be convened within 21 days of the general election, which was held on February 8. Therefore, the parliament is expected to meet by February 29.

Legal Obligation and Potential Constitutional Crisis

Dar emphasized that the parliament will convene on February 29 in accordance with the Constitution. The law ministry has already forwarded a summary to the president proposing to summon the session as per the law. However, President Arif Alvi, who is believed to be inclined towards the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, has not yet approved the proposal. This has raised concerns that his refusal may lead to a constitutional crisis.

Reserved Seats Allocation Issue

According to a source from Geo News, President Alvi's reservations stem from the fact that the lower house of the parliament is still incomplete due to the non-allocation of some reserved seats. While the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has allocated reserved seats to political parties, it has not yet awarded the reserved quota to the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) after independent candidates backed by the council joined their ranks. The ECP has stated that the matter of SIC reserved seats is currently pending before the commission.

President's Response and Alternative Measures

Insider sources have revealed that President Alvi has neither rejected nor accepted the summary but has only communicated his verbal response. In light of this situation, Dar stated that if the president fails to summon the session on February 29, the National Assembly speaker can convene the session under the Constitution.

Caretaker Government's Stance and Assembly Sessions

The caretaker federal government has maintained that convening the National Assembly session within 21 days of the general elections is mandatory under Article 91(2) of the Constitution. Earlier this week, caretaker information minister Murtaza Solangi indicated that the first session of the new National Assembly could be called on any date between February 22 and February 29. Solangi clarified that a simple majority is required to form a government and that the president no longer has the authority to invite a person or party to form a government after the 18th Constitutional Amendment.

Provincial Assemblies' Inaugural Sessions

While the provincial assemblies of Punjab and Sindh have already convened their inaugural sessions, the assemblies of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan are expected to meet for the first time on February 28.