ISLAMABAD: President Mamnoon Hussain will address a joint sitting of both houses of parliament on Wednesday. Earlier, he was scheduled to address the joint session on Thursday.
An official at the presidency said on Sunday that the joint sitting would now be held on Wednesday because several other important events were scheduled for on Thursday.
A new official announcement said the president had summoned sessions of the National Assembly and the Senate on May 31 (Tuesday) and June 2 (Thursday), respectively, and the budget session would start on June 3.
Before this year’s address to the joint session of parliament, President Hussain has addressed such sessions twice, in 2014 and in 2015. The joint sitting in 2013 was addressed by then president Asif Ali Zardari.
In his speech this year, President Hussain is likely to express support for Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif over Panamagate, a source in the presidency said.
The source said the speech would cover all aspects right from the parliament’s performance over the last one year, the ongoing tussle between the government and opposition parties over Panama Papers, implementation of the National Action Plan on terrorism, and the Zarb-i-Azb military operation against terrorists.
The members of parliament belonging to the opposition parties are expected to lodge a strong protest during the presidential address against the government’s policies.
Published in Dawn, May 30th, 2016