Govt decides to summon joint sitting of Parliament tomorrow

ISLAMABAD: The government has decided to summon joint sitting of the Parliament tomorrow (Thursday) evening.

The session is expected to continue for one day and it would be prorogued after address of the president. With this third parliamentary years of the National Assembly will also be commenced on the same day. Well-placed Parliamentary sources told The News here Tuesday evening that the notification pertaining to the summoning of the two houses of the Parliament joint sitting (Majalis-e-Shoora) will be issued today (Wednesday) and the session will start at 5 pm on August 20. It is understood that the presidential address will cater performance of the incumbent government of previous year and it would dilate upon the next parliamentary year’s plans of the government.

The economy, Foreign affairs and major aspects of the domestic situation from the perspective of the government will prominently figure in the address of the president. The presidential address will come under discussion in the two houses of Parliament subsequently and two houses will as matter of formality will later adopt the motion of thanks for the president on account of his address to the Parliament.

For the purpose the sessions of the two houses would be summoned separately later. Interestingly the presidential address which is heard and watched by the services chiefs, elite of the country and diplomats posted in the federal capital while present in the distinguished visitors’ gallery, had been witnessing rumpus in successive years in past.

The opposition stalwarts will have informal consultations Wednesday evening about the joint sitting as the opposition’s parliamentary group will have its joint meeting Thursday afternoon to evolve its strategy regarding the proceedings. The sources pointed out that the opposition would avoid becoming unruly during the presidential address, but it will certainly agitate the victimisation of opponents and their witch-hunting by the government and especially by the NAB.

The opposition has throughout been disputing the electoral process that threw the present government in office and the opposition will also raise it voice in the matter on this occasion. Former leader of the opposition in National Assembly Syed Khurshid Ahmad Shah who is in the custody of the NAB since last year and he has been refused production orders by the speaker National Assembly due to pressure of the government for appearing in the previous joint sitting of the Parliament and earlier the whole budget session of the house.

It would also be a subject of protest by the opposition. The major opposition party; Pakistan Muslim League (PML-N) will protest on the continued detention of its leader and leader of opposition in Punjab Assembly Hamza Shahbaz who is behind the bar consigned by the NAB last year without filing any case.

It is understood that the joint sitting wouldn’t be smooth affair since the opposition would like to highlight its grievances on the occasion and opt to stay away from the rest of sitting, the sources added.