Parliament’s first joint session held today; NA session tomorrow

ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari is gearing up to deliver his seventh address to the combined gathering of the nation’s lawmakers, marking the commencement of the parliamentary calendar post the February 8 general polls, as per a report by The News on Thursday.

The assembly, beckoned by the president under the constitutional mandates of Articles 54 (1) and 56 (3), will convene at 4 PM. Zardari, who previously held the mantle of the nation’s top office from 2008 to 2013, has previously delivered six such addresses during his tenure.

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In addition, the president has called for a session of the National Assembly on Friday at 10:30 AM, exercising his prerogative as laid out in Article 54 (1) of the Constitution.

Previously slated for April 16, the joint session was rescheduled for today. This session marks the onset of the new parliamentary year following the election of members to both the upper and lower houses.

Despite the elections occurring on February 8 and the continued tenure of former president Arif Alvi, the summoning of a joint session was delayed due to pending Senate elections.

In contrast, Alvi had called for a joint session on October 6, 2022, during the incumbency of a coalition government headed by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.

The present session is anticipated to witness robust opposition reactions, particularly from the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf-backed Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) members, who have historically staged vehement protests.

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Meanwhile, the National Assembly Secretariat has extended invitations to the chief justice of Pakistan, governors, chief ministers of all provinces, including Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan.

Furthermore, senior officials and dignitaries, including the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff committee (CJCSC) of the Pakistan Army, service chiefs, speakers, deputy speakers of provincial assemblies, and representatives from Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan, are also slated to attend the joint session.