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Saturday, March 15, 2008
Top party bosses to watch NA oath-taking from guest gallery
ISLAMABAD: The party chiefs of the PML-N and PPP, Nawaz Sharif and Asif Ali Zardari, will watch the oath taking of MNAs-elect together from the VVIP guest gallery of the National Assembly (NA) on March 17. It will mark a rare occasion in the country’s parliamentary history when the heads of the two leading political parties, instead of participating as members of the House, watch the NA inaugural session from the guest gallery. Nawaz will be flanked by his brother, Shahbaz Sharif, and party Chairman Raja Zafarul Haq, while Zardari will be accompanied by former senator Farhatullah Babar and the party’s Parliamentary Secretary Izhar Amrohvi. Although neither Zardari nor Nawaz has been elected to the NA yet, they will chair the joint meeting of the parliamentary parties of the would-be coalition partners. They will announce the names of the NA speaker and deputy speaker nominees, and oversee voting. Zardari will name the Leader of the House after the speaker and deputy speaker have been elected. Meanwhile, the district administration has declared the parliament building and its surrounding areas a high security zone, and have made elaborate security arrangements for the inaugural session. As part of the security plan, the MNAs-elect and VVIPs will use the main gate, while a separate entrance has been designated for all others, including NA Secretariat employees. Separately, the NA Secretariat has issued NA membership and security cards to most MNAs-elect, and should complete the process today. It has allotted official residences in the Parliament Lodges. staff report
Courtesy Daily Times