United opposition to requisition NA next week

ISLAMABAD: The united opposition has decided to requisition the National Assembly session the next week, according to sources. Sources told The News the opposition leaders would submit a requisition the next week as the issues identified in their previous requisition had not been addressed properly during the session that concluded on Thursday. The government had planned to summon the National Assembly in the third week of the next month. However, the opposition was not sure that the government would do so, therefore it decided to requisition the NA on its own. Earlier, the united opposition Thursday withdrew its move for requisitioning of the session for taking up important agenda including a discussion on the arrest of leader of the opposition Shahbaz Sharif by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) and other five issues of public interest.

The requisition was submitted with the signatures of 125 members under clause (3) of Article 54 of the Constitution in the first week of this month. It was the record number of the members of the National Assembly who had signed the requisition during the present National Assembly.

The opposition wanted to discuss rising inflation in the country especially prices of essential items, increasing cases of violence against women including rape, exponential increase in the price of life-saving medicines and rise in electricity prices and increase in circular debt beyond Rs2,300 billion. The opposition also wanted to discuss continuing deterioration in Pakistan’s foreign relations, endangering national security.