Raja Pervaiz elected NA Speaker unopposed

ISLAMABAD: Former prime minister and senior leader of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Raja Pervaiz Ashraf has been elected Speaker of the National Assembly as he was the only candidate who submitted his nomination papers for the slot of the speaker. PPP leader Khursheed Shah and Naveed Qamar had signed nomination papers as proposer and seconder.

The name of the new speaker would be announced by the presiding officer on floor of the House. The new speaker, on his election, will also take the oath of his office on Saturday.

The National Assembly (NA) will meet on Saturday (today) instead of April 22, to elect the new speaker and move a resolution of no-confidence against the deputy speaker. Friday’s circular to hold the session on Saturday was issued in supersession of an earlier circular, which was issued on April 13, on the directive of the acting speaker Qasim Suri, who is facing no-confidence of the treasury benches in the House.

According to April 13 circular, the National Assembly proceedings were re-scheduled to meet on April 16 instead of April 22. “In supersession of the Secretariat’s circular dated April 13, 2022, I am directed to inform that as announced in the sitting of 11th of April, the next sitting of the House will be held on April, 16 at 12 noon,” a circular, signed by Muhammad Mushtaq, additional secretary (legal), said.

It says that as per clause (7) of Article 53 of the Constitution, read with rule 12 of Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the House, 2007, the motion for leave to move a resolution of no-confidence for removal of deputy speaker from the office will be taken up on April 16 i.e. the first working day after the expiry of seven days from the date of receipt of notice of no-confidence resolution.

The no-confidence resolution against Deputy Speaker Qasim Suri will be moved on behalf 159 members. The National Assembly Secretariat has also issued two-point agenda including grant of leave to move a resolution of no-confidence and hold election of the National Assembly speaker.

Meanwhile, a larger bench of Islamabad High Court (IHC) served notices on Deputy Speaker National Assembly Qasim Suri and other respondents in the case regarding the delay in summoning the National Assembly’s session and sought comments till April 22.

The larger bench, headed by Chief Justice Athar Minallah and comprising Justice Aamer Farooq and Justice Baber Sattar, heard the case filed by PMLN lawmaker Murtaza Javed Abbasi. The petitioner’s lawyer adopted the stance that the NA’s session was scheduled for April 16 but it was postponed till April 22. He said that the election for the new speaker of the National Assembly was included in the agenda and there was a time limit of at least seven days for this. “The National Assembly currently is working without the speaker while the current deputy speaker was using the powers of that post," he said. The Chief Justice remarked that the election of the speaker would be done on April 22 according to the agenda item.

The lawyer said that the deputy speaker had not given any reason to postpone the NA session, adding that he just wanted to delay the process. The lawyer said that the case was related to the parliamentary proceeding but there was the decision of the Supreme Court in similar matters. He said that the top court suspended the ruling of the Speaker National Assembly. The Chief Justice remarked that the petitioner had no solid ground and this court couldn’t issue an order in this way. The court directed to let the session be conducted as it had been summoned on April 22. The court said that the Parliament’s disgrace couldn’t be allowed, adding that it had no reason to doubt the summoning of the NA session. The lawyer prayed the court to serve notices on the respondent for an answer. The bench, subsequently, sought comments from respondents and adjourned the hearing till April 22.

The consultation among the coalition partners for the cabinet formation is entering into the final phase as almost 80 percent work has been completed in this regard and it is likely that the first phase of the cabinet will be finalized within the next 24 to 48 hours.

Though the PPP in principle is ready to join the cabinet of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif yet the formal decision has not been announced officially as consultation within the party on the question of joining of Chairman PPP Bilawal Bhutto Zardari as Foreign Minister is going on.

However, sources in the PPP said once the decision with regard to Chairman PPP Bilawal Bhutto Zardari as the Foreign Minister in the cabinet of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is finalised, then it would be communicated to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who is willing to have Bilawal as foreign Minister.

It may be mentioned here in an interview to the CNN Chairman PPP Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, while answering a question on being the foreign minister under a Prime Minister not from his own party, said that it would be difficult for the party to stomach, being the second-largest member of the coalition. “However, we do have to work together to address Pakistan’s problems. I would follow whatever the party decides in the better interest of the nation,” he stated.

However, sources said voices within the PPP are still either in support or against the issue of Bilawal Bhutto Zardari as Foreign Minister in the cabinet of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.

Sources said it is expected that the PPP will take the final decision within the next 24 hours in this regard.Sources said from the PML-N, the names of Ahsan Iqbal for Ministry of Planning and Development, Rana Sanaullah for Interior, Khawaja Muhammad Asif, either for the Ministry of Water and Power or Defense, Khuram Dastgir either for Defense or Commerce, Khawaja Saad Rafiq, likely for Ministry of Railways, Merriyum Aurangzeb for Ministry of Information, Sardar Ayaz Sadiq, Rana Tanveer Hussain and Miftah Ismael as Advisers to Prime Minister and other names also under consideration.

Sources said it is likely that Ayesha Ghous will also be inducted as a federal minister on an economy related ministry.While the sources said if the PPP decides for the cabinet, then Senator Sherry Rehman is likely get the post of Federal Minister for Benazir Income Support Programme that comes under social security. Other names under consideration are Syed Khursheed Shah, Senator Farooq H Naek, Syed Naveed Qamar, Shazia Marri and Hina Rabbani Khar.

Sources said the PPP was interested in ministries like Human Rights, Law and Justice, Inter-Provincial Coordination, Human Resource Development as well as Parliamentary Affairs.As former Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf is likely to be elected today (Saturday) in the National Assembly as Speaker National Assembly unopposed, the post of Governor Punjab is also reserved for the PPP and Makhdoom Ahmed Mehmood is a hot contender for this post.

Sources said it is likely that in the first phase of the cabinet, seven ministers from the PPP will take oath and in the second, three more will be inducted.Sources said consultation was going on to offer the Ministry of Port and Shipping and Information Technology to MQM-Pakistan.

Sources said the post of Deputy Speaker National Assembly is likely to go to the JUIF and the name of Asad Mehmood, son of Maulana Fazalur Rehman, is under consideration.Besides the post of Deputy Speaker to JUIF, sources said it is likely that the post of Governor Khyber Pukhtunkhawa or Balochistan with two ministries, likely Ministry of Religious Affairs and Ministry of Housing and Works, will be offered to JUIF.

Sources said the Ministry of Communication will either go to ANP’s Amir Haider Hoti or PML-N will keep it. Sources said Shazain Bugti of Jamhoori Watan Party, Khalid Magsi of BAP, Mohsin Dawar, Aslam Bhootani, are also likely to be included in the federal cabinet. Sources aid Moshin Dawar is also interested in the Ministry of Human Rights and the PPP is ready to give it to him.