President Alvi to address parliament tomorrow

Opposition likely to protest during session to be attended by services chiefs, diplomats

ISLAMABAD: President of Pakistan Dr Arif Alvi will address a joint session of the parliament tomorrow amid a possible protest by the opposition parties.

The National Assembly Secretariat has made all arrangements and has sent special invitations to all parliamentarians calling upon them to attend the special session which will start at 5pm.

For this session, extraordinary security arrangements have been made and personnel of police, paramilitary rangers and the special branch are deployed at the Parliament House, entry to which is reserved to people holding a special pass.

Chiefs of all three armed forces including Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (CJCSC) General Zubair Mahmood Hayat as well as provincial governors, chief ministers, speakers of provincial assemblies and a number of foreign diplomats have also been invited to session.  After the special session, the National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser will also host a special dinner for the president.

According to sources, the opposition benches have decided to stage a strong protest during the president’s speech against the economic crisis and ‘selected’ accountability.

The opposition is also likely to censure the government for what it calls its failure in foreign policy. According to sources, the opposition has already finalised its plan for the protest.