Pakistan President ignores parliamentary joint sitting for third time
Jan 15, 2023
Islamabad [Pakistan], January 15 : The tension between Pakistan Prime Minister's House and the Presidency continues as President Arif Alvi, who belongs to the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, has ignored the parliamentary affairs ministry's summary for a joint sitting of parliament for a third time, The Express Tribune reported.
The central government is worried that Alvi may not take the right decision as President, who holds a constitutional position and may not carry out legislation to convene a joint sitting of parliament.
The joint sitting proposal came after Punjab Chief Minister and Pakistan Muslim League (Q) leader Chaudhry Parvez Elahi on Thursday signed the summary for the dissolution of the provincial assembly.
As per The Express Tribune's sources, the central government is expected to hold the discussion for this purpose, during the session which is starting on Monday.
The PTI is also considering making a move for Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to take a vote of confidence.
Sources said the PTI wanted the elections to be held across the country, instead of Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa alone.
To counter the PTI's plans, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) chairman Nawaz Sharif on Saturday directed party leaders to start preparing for provincial elections in Punjab with full force, the Express Tribune reported, adding the decision was conveyed by the former PM.
Sharif's decision follows the dissolution of Punjab's provincial assemblies, the report stated further, adding that the chief minister of
Punjab CM Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi, gained a majority in the assembly and formally advised the governor to dissolve the House. Punjab Chief Minister proved his majority in the provincial assembly, winning the confidence vote in Thursday's early hours, after weeks of political turbulence in the most populous province in Pakistan.
"There were 186 votes in favor of the resolution Chaudhry Parvez Elahi has received a vote of confidence from the House as Chief Minister of Punjab," Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) tweeted.
The vote of confidence started after Wednesday midnight and concluded with the PTI and PML-Q coalition showing a majority with the support of 186 lawmakers, The Express Tribune newspaper reported.
This vote was held after the Lahore High Court (LHC) ruled that the Punjab Governor had the authority to ask the chief minister to seek the trust of the house even during an ongoing session.
