President asks PM to seek trust vote

ISLAMABAD: President Arif Alvi, in exercise of his powers under Article 54 (1) of the Constitution, on Thursday summoned the National Assembly (NA) session at 12.15pm on Saturday (March 06).

"The president has been pleased to summon the National Assembly for the purpose requiring the prime minister to obtain vote of confidence under Article 91 (7) of the Constitution," the notification issued by the National Assembly Secretariat on Thursday evening said.

The Article 91 (7) says the prime minister shall hold office during the pleasure of the President, but the President shall not exercise his powers under this clause unless he is satisfied that the prime minister does not command the confidence ofthe majority of the members of the National Assembly, in which case he shall summon the National Assembly and require the prime minister to obtain a vote of confidence from the Assembly.

The resolution on vote of confidence will be decided by division of votes in the House. The prime minister will require at least 172 votes in the National Assembly of 342 membership to stay as Leader of the House.

Meanwhile, the Deputy Speaker Qasim Suri prorogued the requisitioned session of the National Assembly at the outset of proceedings on Thursday morning. The House echoed with slogans of 'Jamhooriat Zindabad' as soon as the chair read out prorogation orders.

As per Constitution, the resolution for the prime minister, seeking confidence vote, could be moved at the session summoned by the President. The NA session, prorogued on Thursday, was requisitioned by the opposition members.