ISLAMABAD: The main opposition Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) has made withdrawal of its requisition notice, under which the speaker is bound to convene a National Assembly session by Wednesday, conditional upon a categorical announcement of a date by the government for summoning a regular assembly session, Dawn has learnt.

Sources in the opposition told Dawn that the government had been trying to persuade the PML-N to withdraw its requisition notice which the party had submitted on April 22, but so far the party had not done so and had put the condition that the government must announce a date for the session.

The PML-N had submitted the requisition notice carrying signatures of 98 opposition members on April 22 under Article 54(3) of the Constitution with a seven-point agenda, mainly seeking discussions on issues related to coronavirus pandemic in the country.

Under the Constitution, the speaker is bound to convene an assembly session within 14 days, i.e. by May 6.

The government and the opposition members had been discussing the standard operating procedures for conducting a physical session of the assembly for the past many weeks, but the situation became grave when Speaker Asad Qaiser tested positive for Covid-19 on May 1. This led to complete shutdown of the National Assembly Secretariat and the Parliament House building till May 9 “for cleaning and disinfecting the building in order to minimise the potential risk of spreading Covid-19”.

A notification issued in this regard says that “the security staff has been directed not to allow entry of any person in offices, galleries and any other precinct of the Secretariat” till May 9.

Under the Constitution, a normal session of the National Assembly is summoned by the president on the summary of the parliamentary affairs ministry, but a requisitioned session is convened only by the speaker.

Mr Qaiser has quarantined himself at his residence in his native town, Swabi, in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa after he and some of his family members tested positive for Covid-19.

When contacted, PML-N’s information secretary Marriyum Aurangzeb said her party was in consultation with the speaker. She said the speaker was expected to announce the dates for a National Assembly session on Monday (today).

“The PML-N will decide about withdrawing its requisition for the session only after the announcement by the speaker,” she said.

Soon after abrupt prorogation of the National Assembly session on March 13, the PML-N had submitted a similar requisition notice for convening an assembly session. However, later the party withdrew the notice at the request of the government and other opposition parties after the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf assured them that the government was considering the option of convening a virtual session of the assembly in the wake of the situation created by coronavirus and to implement the policy of social distancing.

The speaker also constituted a special committee under former speaker Syed Fakhar Imam to propose amendments to the rules and procedures or the Constitution for allowing holding of a virtual session.

However, the PML-N rejected the idea of convening a virtual session of the assembly and even termed it a “conspiracy” by the ruling party to make the parliament redundant and non-functional.

Published in Dawn, May 4th, 2020