By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s President Dr. Arif Alvi on Thursday summoned a session of the newly elected parliament, ending weeks of uncertainty and criticism over his delay in convening the lawmakers.
Alvi said he had approved the session “subject to some reservations” and hoped that the issue of the reserved seats for a minor religious party, which had been overtaken by independent candidates backed by former prime minister Imran Khan, would be resolved before the constitutional deadline of 21 days after the general elections.
The Election Commission of Pakistan has not yet allotted the reserved seats for women and minorities to the Sunni Ittehad Council.
The president’s decision came after the speaker of the outgoing parliament, Raja Pervaiz Ashraf, had already summoned the lawmakers at 10 a.m. on Thursday, citing his constitutional authority to do so.
Alvi had earlier rejected a request from the caretaker prime minister, Anwaarul Haq Kakar, to call the parliament, saying that it was in line with the constitution, which gives him the discretion to act on the prime minister’s advice.
The president said he did not understand why his decision was taken as a partisan act.
“It is not understood on what grounds it has been taken as a partisan act, though it was also aimed at the completion of the National Assembly in accordance with Article 51 of the Constitution,” a statement on the President’s X account said.
Alvi said he did not want to indulge in or dwell on the “baseless accusations of constitutional violation” attributed in the summary, and that he did not need “to remind that a caretaker prime minister/setup was merely responsible to ensure conducive conditions for the peaceful, fair and transparent holding of the general elections, […] on which many quarters had expressed reservations”.
He also expressed his displeasure over the “tone and tenor” of the request, saying that it was “unfortunate” and “sad” that the chief executive of the country addressed the head of the state in the first person and used “unacceptable language and allegations without any substance”.
“Summaries are not usually addressed in this way. It is sad that [the] chief executive of the country addresses the head of the state in the first form and resorts to unacceptable language and allegations without any substance,” a statement by the President House said.
The president said he could not ignore some irregularities in the electoral process and the formation of the government, and that he had to keep the national interest in mind, for the unity and progress of the nation.
The general elections, which were marred by allegations of rigging and manipulations, resulted in a hung parliament, with no single party securing a majority.
The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, and the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) of former president Asif Ali Zardari, have joined hands with a few other groups to form a coalition set-up.
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