Musharraf, the coup leader who toppled the elected government of Nawaz Sharif in October 1999, will continue as President

ISLAMABAD, November 2 (IslamOnline) - Inaugural session of the newly elected Parliament in Pakistan would be held on 8^th of November, it was officially announced here Thursday, November 2^.

According to a notification issued by the President House, President General Pervez Musharraf has summoned the first session of the newly elected National Assembly on the 8th of November here in Islamabad.

The opening session of the Parliament would mark the beginning of the process of country’s return to democracy bringing three years of military rule to an end.

General Pervez Musharraf, the coup leader who toppled the elected government of Nawaz Sharif in October 1999, will continue as President despite revival of Parliamentary form of government with most of the power lying in the hands of the Prime Minister chosen by the new Parliament.

But sources believe it will take at least a week before the new government would start functioning. On the opening day, the newly elected members would take oath and sign themselves in as members of Parliament.

The Assembly is likely to meet again the next day or after a gap of a day or two to elect speaker and deputy speaker of the House. Election of the Prime Minister is only possible on the third session. Date for which is not yet known.

According to the Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister, the elected Prime Minister would take oath of office on November 14, same day when President General Musharraf is also expected to take oath afresh under the restored constitution.

With the Parliament session less than a week away, political parties on Thursday were still far away from an agreement on the government formation. At least two or three major winners of October 10 elections need to make a coalition to form government as no party was able to gain enough seats in the National Assembly to form a government of its own.

An alliance of the pro-government parties has announced a joint candidate for the Prime Minister. Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali, a veteran politician, has been nominated by the Grand National Alliance which includes PML (Q) that won maximum number of seats to the National Assembly. Its alliance with other smaller groups, including MQM and National Alliance, may help it achieve a majority in the Assembly but the PML (Q) leaders are looking to get the religious parties into the government to make it stronger and long-lasting.

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