A National Assembly session will be requisitioned by the opposition to discuss several issues, mainly focusing on the recent hike in the price of products, faced by the public.
The decision to requisition a session comes amid the PTI-ruled government's hesitance due to non-cooperation by majority of its members, who are not willing to turn up for the proceedings despite the party leadership’s persuasion.
The requisition will be submitted early next week. An absence of the treasury members created a quorum issue in the last three consecutive National Assembly sessions. Ironically, the ruling alliance couldn’t assemble even 100 members at one point in the House, where it enjoyed the support of 178 members.
Leader of the Opposition in the NA Shahbaz Sharif is in constant consultation with other parliamentary groups of the House, including PPP chairperson Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and Maulana Asad Mahmood of the JUI to file the requisition, well-placed political sources said.
PPP Senator Yousaf Raza Gilani and PML-N Senator Azam Nazir Tarrar are also on board for requisition of the two Houses to debate the price hike and other issues of national significance.
“The government has got resolutions passed from National Assembly to refer more than 14 laws to the joint sitting of Parliament,” the opposition leader was quoted as saying by the publication. It is mandatory to get the bills passed by both Houses to convert them into law.
Shahbaz has already announced that the opposition will agitate the issue of price hike in the National Assembly session, and it will give a tough time to the government while discussing the issues. He said that the opposition won't tolerate an increase in the price of petroleum products, including LPG and other items of daily need, which have gone beyond the reach of a common man.
The government has tentatively planned to convene the National Assembly session in the second week of the next month.
State Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Ali Muhammad Khan wasn’t available to offer his comments.
