ISLAMABAD, May 27: Prime Minister Mir Hazar Khan Khoso advised President Asif Ali Zardari on Monday to summon the National Assembly’s session on June 1.

A press release issued by the prime minister’s secretariat confirmed that the advice had been sent to the president for convening the NA session on June 1.

Talking to journalists at the National Press Club, Islamabad, Information Minister Arif Nizami said the National Assembly would meet on June 1 when the newly-elected members would take oath. On June 3, the speaker and deputy speaker will be elected and on June 5 the leader of the house.

He said soon after the oath-taking of the new cabinet in the afternoon of June 5, the term of the caretakers would end.

Presidency’s spokesperson Senator Farhatullah Babar said the Presidency had received a summary from the prime minister for summoning the NA session on June 1. The office had sent it to the president, who was in Karachi, for his signatures.

“It appears that the National Assembly will meet on June 1, but the president enjoys discretionary powers to call its meeting even before that date, if he so desires,” said a senior government functionary, referring to Article 91 (2) of the constitution.

He said June 1 was the cut-off date because the house had to meet no later than 21 days after the general elections.

Meanwhile, the party position in the new National Assembly, according to tentative results, gives the PML-N clear majority in the house with 175 seats, including 30 it is likely to win on seats reserved for women and minorities.

The PPP holds the second position with 44 seats and the PTI is third with 35.

Iftikhar A. Khan adds: The PML-N finally crossed the magic number of 172 in the National Assembly required to form and run the government single handedly.

An ECP official said the commission was striving to address the issue of reserved seats for women and minorities because a stay order issued by the Balochistan High Court might affect the entire schedule, beginning with the swearing in of the members on June 1 and followed by election of the speaker and deputy speaker of the assembly and finally the prime minister. He said the notification was likely to be issued on Tuesday.

The PML-N, having gained 145 seats in the house after as many as 19 independent members-elect joined it, is all set to get 30 reserved seats, exhausting the priority list submitted by it to the commission.

According to sources, the name of Anushe Rehman — who headed the party’s committee that finalised the names for women’s reserved seats — appears on top of the notification that is ready to be issued. Others on the list from Punjab include Zaib Jaffar, Tahira Aurangzeb, Parveen Masood Bhatti, Ayesha Raza Farooq, Shaista Pervaiz, Nighat Parveen, Majeeda Wyne (widow of former chief minister Ghulam Haider Wyne), Khalida Mansoor, Asiya Naz Tanoli, Rida Khan (daughter of PML-N information secretary Senator Mushahidullah Khan), Seema Mohiuddin Jameeli, Shahnaz Saleem Malik, Laila Khan, Arifa Khalid Pervaiz, Surriya Asghar, Shahzadi Umerzadi Tiwani, Maiza Hameed, Farhana Qamar, Shaheen Shafiq, Iffat Liaquat, Shazia Ashfaq Mattu and Romina Khurshid Alam of the PML-N.

Two reserved seats for women from Punjab will go to the PTI -- Dr Shireen Mazari and Munzza Hassan.

Belum Hasnain of the PPP and Tanzeela Aamir Cheema of the PML will also become members of the assembly on the reserved seats from Punjab.

There are 35 reserved seats for women from Punjab and the eight remaining ones will be filled after issuance of a new schedule inviting nominations from the parties. All the eight seats are also likely to go to the PML-N.

Of the 14 reserved seats for women in the assembly from Sindh, seven will go to the PPP, five to MQM and one each to PML-F and NPP. Those who are to be notified as returned candidates include President Asif Ali Zardari’s sister Faryal Talpur who has also won on a general seat from Benazirabad. Others from the PPP set to become MNAs include Shagufta Jumani, Nafisa Shah, Shazia Mari, Mahreen Razaque Bhutto, Alizeh Iqbal Haider and Mrs Musarrat.

Kishwar Zehra, Tahira Asif, Saman Sultana Jaffri, Dr Nikhat Shakeel Khan and Dr Fauzia Hameed of the MQM, Reeta Ishwar of PML-F and Shahjehan of NPP are also set to become MNAs from the quotas of their parties.

Of the eight reserved seats for women from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, four will go to the PTI, and one each to the JUI-F, PML-N and Jamaat-i-Islami. The result for one seat is unclear.

Those are sure to become MNAs on reserved seats from the province include Nafeesa Inayatullah Khan Khattak, Mussarrat Ahmadzaib, Sajida Begum and Aasiah Gulalai of the PTI, Shahida Akhtar Ali of JUI-F, Tahira Bukhari of PML-N and Ayesha Syed of the JI.

The PkMAP’s Naseema Rehman and JUI-F’s Aliya Kamran will become MNAs on two of the three reserved seats for women in the National Assembly from Balochistan. The third seat will be decided by lot.

MINORITIES: Six of the 10 reserved seats for minorities will go to the PML-N’s Dr Darshan, Dr Ramesh Kumar, Bhawan Das, Isphanyar Bhandara, Tariq Christopher Qaiser and Khalil. The other seats will go to Ramesh Lal of the PPP, Lal Chand (PTI), Sanjay Parwani (MQM) and Aasiyah Nasir (JUI-F).