President to address joint sitting of parliament on Oct 3

ISLAMABAD: National Assembly Speaker Raja Pervaiz Ashraf has said October 3 has been proposed after consultations with all parliamentary leaders for the presidential address to the joint sitting of parliament.

“Earlier, September 19 was proposed, but due to the flood devastation and parliamentarians’ presence in their constituencies for relief activities, it was suggested that the president address the joint sitting of parliament on October 3,” he said in an interaction with the Parliamentary Reporters Association here at the Parliament House on Thursday. 

He sought cooperation from journalists to defend the parliament against fake news and unverified narratives, saying that if someone disrespected the parliament through fake news and unverified narratives, it was the media responsibility to discourage such efforts to malign this sacred institution.

To a questions regarding the fate of resignations of PTI members, he said the tale of these resignations was strange and he tried his best to confirm these resignations as per the law but couldn’t. “Some members told me that they have resigned under pressure,” he said, adding that the Islamabad High Court had left the decision on resignations with him.

Asked whether the PTI members were receiving salaries, he said they were not getting salaries while some of them were using government vehicles which had been taken back, but Parliament Lodges were still being used by them. “I was asked to get the lodges vacated from them, but, being a democrat, I did not force them to leave as we are democratic people,” he said.

He said the journalists reporting parliament proceedings had the responsibility to convey verified news as only true news would keep the public trust intact in the parliament. He said it was binding upon journalists to guide the government whenever they observed something against the parliamentary norms.