Federal Caretaker Minister for Law and Justice, Afzal Haider said that the first ever session of the newly elected National Assembly would be convened on March 5 likely according to the scheduled being finalised so far.
Talking to APP about the results of the general elections and formation of new governments, the minister said that the caretaker government had fulfilled its commitment of holding free, fair and transparent general elections which shows credibility of the caretaker government.
The Election Commission of Pakistan will issue notifications of the final results for general seats by March 01 (Saturday) and for reserved seats of women and minorities by March 03 (Monday), the minister said.
The National Assembly Secretariat has already completed all arrangements for convening the session of the National Assembly on March 5 and there will be no delay by the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs as well as the National Assembly Secretariat, Afzal Haider said.
Talking about the procedure about the first session, the minister said after the completion of the Lower House of the Parliament with the issuance of final notifications of general and reserved seats a summery would be sent to President to convene the session just within a couple of days.
In the first session, the outgoing Speaker of the National Assembly Chaudhry Ameer Hussain will administer oath to newly elected members in the first session according to Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business of the National Assembly, the minister said.
The minister also made it clear that the newly elected members would take oath under the constitution of 1973 of Islamic Republic of Pakistan and there should be no ambiguity on this issue. After the completion of oath taking ceremony, the first session will be prorogued with the Presidential order, he said.
The National Assembly will also meet on March 6 or 7 to elect its new Speaker and Deputy Speaker according to the rules, he said. The next session for the election of the Leader of the House (Prime Minister) will be held in the second week of March after receiving consent from the single largest party of the National Assembly according to traditions, Syed Afzal Haider said.
The newly elected Prime Minister will take oath of his office on the same day as will be elected, he said. President Pervez Musharraf will administer oath to the newly elected Prime Minister and oath taking ceremony will be held in the President House, he said.
The ceremony will be attended by the caretaker Prime Minister, members of the caretaker cabinet and newly elected Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly, Acting Chairman Senate and parliamentarians besides Services Chiefs and parliamentarians, he said. The newly elected Prime Minister will also take oath under constitution of 1973 of Islamic Republic of Pakistan, the minister said.
When asked about members of the new cabinet, the minister said, "It depends on the new Prime Minister. Members of the cabinet will take oath as list will be given by the Prime Minister." The process of formation of new federal and all the four provincial governments would be completed by mid of next month. "We are happy over the results which is acceptable to all the political parties without any reservation," he said.
The world community especially foreign observers have appreciated results of the elections terming it a free and fair poll process, he said. Regarding role of caretaker government, the minister said, "We have completed our mandate regarding holding of elections. Now it depends on the leadership of the political parties and they should make efforts to form governments as soon as possible." With the finalisation of the entire process of formation of new government, the caretaker government will hand over the government to the emerging governments.
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