PPP Chairman and former foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has accused President Arif Alvi of abrogating the Constitution twice, saying calling the National Assembly session is “not a matter for this head of state”. Talking to newsmen outside the Supreme Court building after attending hearing of presidential reference regarding death of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto on Tuesday, Bilawal said “I think two cases can be filed against President Alvi for violating the constitution. One case will be for dissolving the assembly during the no-confidence motion against Imran Khan and the other for not convening the National Assembly session.” The PPP chairman said President Alvi is abrogating the Constitution and is not fulfilling his duty.

“We will replace President Alvi through election,” he added. On the other hand PTI leader and counsel Babar Awan has said that the power to summon a session of the National Assembly only lies with President Arif Alvi and not with speaker Raja Pervaiz Ashraf. Talking to reporters in Islamabad on Tuesday, Babar Awan said, “According to the Constitution, the president can summon the National Assembly session. The speaker has no authority to summon the session.” He further asserted that summoning the session would be equivalent to going against the Constitution. “If any government will be formed, it would be against the Constitution. The verdict of the case about Qasim Suri’s ruling is present; a speaker can only adjourn a session,” he added.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan (INP)