ISLAMABAD, Dec 29: The National Assembly session planned for January 3 has been postponed till the end of the month, Federal Minister for Parliamentary Affairs, Dr Sher Afgan, told Dawn.

Sources in the National Assembly Secretariat said that the session for Jan 3 was put on the annual calendar before it was postponed to a later date. In reply to a question about the reason for post ponment, Dr Afgan said some parliamentarians were proceeding for Haj which necessitated that the session be held after Eidul Azha.

Replying to a question about constitutional requirement of the presidential address in the new parliamentary year, the minister said the Senate would complete its parliamentary year by March 12.

Dr Afgan said the presidential address to the joint session of parliament would take place after both the houses completed their parliamentary years. He said the National Assembly completed its parliamentary year on Nov 16.