Pak National Assembly adjourned, to meet again on Monday to elect new PM
Islamabad, Apr 10 (PTI) National Assembly proceedings were adjourned in the early hours of Sunday and the House will meet again on April 11 at 2 pm to elect the new premier after Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan was removed from office through a no-confidence vote.
Ayaz Sadiq of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, who was chairing the crucial session, said the nomination papers for the new prime minister may be submitted by 2 pm on Sunday and the scrutiny would be done by 3 pm.
He summoned the session on Monday at 11 am and said the new premier would be elected then. However, the National Assembly of Pakistan later informed on its official Twitter account that the House will meet at 2 pm.
"The Sitting of the National Assembly will meet again on Monday, the 11th April, 2022 at 2:00 p.m. instead of 11:00 a.m," it tweeted.
Earlier, Sadiq was nominated by Speaker Asad Qaiser to chair the session after the leader of Imran Khan's party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), announced to step down as it was not possible for him to continue.
Sadiq immediately started the voting process.
The joint Opposition - a rainbow of socialist, liberal and radically religious parties - secured the support of 174 members in the 342-member National Assembly, more than the needed strength of 172 to oust the prime minister on a day full of drama and multiple adjournments of the Lower House.
No prime minister in Pakistan's history was ever ousted through a no-confidence motion. Khan is the first premier whose fate was decided through a trust vote.
Also, no Pakistani prime minister has ever completed a full five-year term in office.
Khan, 69, was not present in the lower house at the time of voting. His party lawmakers staged a walkout during the voting. However, PTI's dissident members were present in the house and sat on the government benches.
The removal of Khan has set in motion the process to elect the new leader of the house.
The combined opposition has already named PML-N president Shehbaz Sharif as joint candidate.
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Maharashtra sets up state vaccination task force to strengthen immunisation programme
Mumbai (PTI): The Maharashtra government has set up a State Vaccination Task Force to strengthen the regular immunisation programme and review the progress of related campaigns, a health department official said on Monday.
The State Vaccination Task Force will comprise at least 29 members and will be headed by the administrative head of the health department, he informed.
The government has also constituted separate district-level and municipal vaccination task forces to improve implementation and address challenges at the grassroots level, he said.
Municipal task forces, chaired by respective civic commissioners, have been constituted in view of the vast urban population in Maharashtra and the role of civic bodies in implementing different health programmes.
The district-level task forces will function under the chairmanship of collectors.
"Complete immunisation of children at the appropriate age is an extremely simple, cost-effective and highly effective measure to reduce child mortality and the prevalence of diseases among kids. Immunisation is a powerful tool for reducing illness in children," maintained the official.
To ensure full vaccination of all children, the state government implements various campaigns from time to time as per the central government guidelines, he pointed out.
"Active participation and cooperation of other relevant government departments are essential (in making these campaigns successful)," according to the official.
The state-level body will review the regular immunisation programme, associated campaigns and vaccine-preventable diseases in detail. It will also conduct focused assessments of high-risk districts and municipal corporations, including vacancies at district, municipal and sub-district levels, availability of cold chain equipment, resource gaps and training requirements, he noted.
The state task force will review allocation and utilisation of funds for immunisation and ensure timely action by officers concerned based on reports from district and municipal task forces and state-level monitoring mechanisms, the official said.
It will also ensure active coordination and participation of other government departments in immunisation drives, while district and municipal task forces will carry out similar functions at their respective levels, the official added.
