ISLAMABAD, Jan 7: President Gen Pervez Musharraf is expected to address a joint session of parliament next week, sources told Dawn on Tuesday. They said that though the date had not been finalized , Gen Musharraf was likely to address the session on Jan 12.

They said arrangements had been started for the joint session, which was mandatory under the Constitution. Under Article 56(3) of the Constitution, the president is required to address the joint session of parliament at "the commencement of the first session after each general election to the National Assembly and at the commencement of the first session of each year."

However, Gen Musharraf did not address the joint session due to noisy protest of the opposition against the Legal Framework Order and parliament completed its first year without meeting the constitutional requirement.

They said the Pakistan Muslim League had started consultations with its allies and a meeting of the ruling coalition was expected within a few days to chalk out a strategy to counter the opposition's protest during the session.

They claimed that the government had sought cooperation of the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal in this regard and the alliance had given some assurance. People's Party Parliamentarians Senator Farhatullah Babar said the Alliance for the Restoration of Democracy would finalize its strategy when the session was announced. However, he said: "The ARD will resist and protest any attempt of the government to bring a non-elected president to parliament."