Zardari poised to make history, to address joint Parl session

Asif Ali Zardari is set to create a record by becoming the first president to address a joint session of both houses of Pakistan's parliament for a sixth time, though he will be doing so at a time when his party is no longer in power.

Officials said Zardari, 57, is expected to address the joint session of the senate and national assembly on June 10.

Presidential spokesman Farhatullah Babar said a presidential address was in the pipeline. The president will definitely address parliament if he is invited by new Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to do so though no formal proposal for a joint session had been received by the presidency as yet, Babar told the media.

According to constitutional provisions, the president has to address a joint session of parliament at the beginning of the first session of the national assembly after a general election as well as the first sitting of the national assembly in every parliamentary year. The constitution further says the president can summon either house or both houses in a joint session "as he thinks fit".

The joint session scheduled for June 10 will be the first formal session of the lower house of parliament after the election of the new premier, speaker and deputy speaker. The president is required to address the newly elected parliament.

For the first time, the Pakistan People's Party will not be in power when Zardari addresses the joint session of parliament. The PPP came to power after the 2008 polls but it was routed by the Pakistan Muslim League-N in the recent general election. The PML-N staged a protest and boycotted the joint session during Zardari’s last address.