27 June 2004	Sunday	08 Jamadi-ul-Awwal 1425

Please Visit our Sponsor (Ads open in separate window)

ISLAMABAD, June 26: A special session of the National Assembly will be held on Tuesday evening to elect the new prime minister, sources told Dawn on Saturday.

Under the constitution, the sources said, a member of the National Assembly could become prime minister only through an election. Thus, prime minister-designate Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain will have to contest an election in the National Assembly before assuming the charge of the office.

Meanwhile, President Gen Pervez Musharraf prorogued the ongoing session of the National Assembly in exercise of the powers conferred on him by clause 1 of Article 54, said a notification issued by the secretary of the National Assembly Secretariat.

Speaker Chaudhry Amir Hussain had on Friday adjourned the NA session until Monday evening. As there cannot be a gap of more than two days in the proceedings of the lower house during an ongoing session, the president prorogued it to convene a fresh session.

The sources said that Chaudhry Shujaat would submit his nomination papers before the start of the special session at 4pm on Tuesday.

Another source said former finance minister Shaukat Aziz was likely to contest the election from the National Assembly seat to be vacated by former defence minister Rao Sikandar Iqbal. The source said Mr Iqbal would be appointed governor of Punjab.