Speaker empowered to call session if president delays: Dar

Lahore: Senator Ishaq Dar emphasized on Sunday that should President Dr. Arif Alvi fail to schedule a session on Feb 29, the National Assembly speaker possesses the constitutional prerogative to convene a session independently.

Dar said that Constitution explicitly outlined that if a session is not called post-elections in the country, the speaker retains the authority to convene a session on the 21st day.

Dar further asserted that under such circumstances, it would be impractical to deliberate on how the economy could improve on the floor of the House.      

The former finance minister highlighted that Feb 29 marked the ultimate deadline as per the constitution's stipulated 21-day timeframe. He remarked that the same principle would also be applicable in the provinces if the governor did not convene a session