Opp demands long-due regular Senate session.

Byline: Imran Mukhtar

ISLAMABAD -- The opposition in the Senate Thursday demanded of the government to summon regular session of the Upper House of the Parliament saying 108 days have passed since the house met last time.

It also urged the government to summon joint sitting of the parliament to form a national policy on the challenges the country is facing internally and externally. The opposition parties in the Senate maintained that the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) was violating the Constitution by not summoning the regular session of the house as it was bound to do so under Article 61 of the Constitution.

The government had summoned the last regular session of the Senate on August 29 that prorogued on September 3. After this, Chairman Senate Mohammad Sadiq Sanjrani, in exercise of the powers conferred by clause 3 of Article 54 of the Constitution, summoned the Senate on November 5 on the requisition of opposition parties that prorogued on November 15.

Leader of the Opposition in the Senate Raja Zafarul Haq said in a statement that the government has not summoned the session for the last 108 days. 'Now it apparently looks impossible that the house would not complete the required days, necessary to meet in a parliamentary year, under the Constitution.'

108 days have passed since the house met last time

Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Senator Raja Zafar also demanded that the government should summon the joint sitting of the parliament without any delay to discuss the challenges the country is facing internally and externally. 'Especially, a difficult situation is emerging in Indian Occupied Kashmir and such steps are being taking by Indian government which have invited an outcry and there was need to form a national policy by summoning the joint sitting,' he added.

Separately, Pakistan People's Party (PPP), another opposition party, demanded from the government to summon fresh session of the Senate.Parliamentary Leader of PPP in the Senate Ms Sherry Rehman in a statement expressed her shock over the 'government's dill...