World News | National Assembly Speaker to Call Lower House in Session After March 15: Pak Interior Minister

Islamabad, Mar 13 (PTI) Pakistan's Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid said on Sunday that the National Assembly speaker would convene a session of the lower house of Parliament after March 15 for the no-confidence motion submitted by the opposition parties against Prime Minister Imran Khan.

Rashid told the media that Speaker Asad Qaiser was empowered to call a session of the Lower House on the opposition's no-confidence resolution submitted by the opposition parties on March 8 against Khan who came to power in August 2018.

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"The speaker has to decide when to call the session. He will decide after the 15 (March),” he said, adding that the speaker by law must call the session by March 22.

On the first day, the secretary will circulate a notice for a no-confidence resolution, which will be moved on the next working day, said Rashid.

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Under the rules, after the resolution is moved, it "shall not be voted upon before the expiry of three days, or later than seven days”.

He said a key meeting of the foreign minister of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) was scheduled to take place on March 21-22.

The country would observe a holiday on March 23 when the Pakistan Day parade is held in the capital Islamabad.

Political temperature has been soaring in Pakistan since the joint opposition moved the no-trust motion. Both the government and the Opposition have been claiming that they have enough members to carry the day.

In the 342-member National Assembly, the Opposition needs 272 votes to remove the prime minister.

Prime Minister Khan, 69, came to power in 2018 and the next general election is scheduled to be held in 2023.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)