News
Saturday, March 15, 2008
‘PAs cannot be convened without president’s consent’
PESHAWAR: Provincial governors cannot call the inaugural sessions of the provincial assemblies without the president’s approval after amendments made to the constitution through the Provisional Constitution Order (PCO), NWFP Caretaker Law Minister Mian Mohammad Ajmal told Daily Times on Friday. He said that although signatory powers lay with the governors under Article 109 of the Constitution, the president’s approval had become mandatory via Rule 6 of the PCO. It was now up to the president to requisition the provincial assembly sessions. Nevertheless, Ajmal dismissed as ‘baseless’ news reports published in sections of the press about delays in calling the maiden session of the NWFP Assembly. It had been reported that the Law Department had sent a requisition summary for the assembly session to the governor for approval as per Article 109 of the Constitution, but the Governor’s Secretariat had returned it, saying the session would now be called according to Rule 6 of the PCO. The minister said the Law Department had neither sent a summary to the governor, nor had a demand been made for it from any quarter. “I have prepared the summary for the requisition of the assembly session. When the president orders, I will send it for signing,” he added. Ajmal said he did not know whether the NWFP Assembly first session would be called on the same day as the National Assembly inaugural session, as reported in the press. akhtar amin
Courtesy Daily Times