ISLAMABAD: President Dr Arif Alvi recently addressed the joint session of the Parliament, marking the beginning of the new parliamentary year.
The President had convened the joint session as per his powers under Article 54(1) of the Constitution.
Prime Minister Imran Khan, Chairman Senate Sadiq Sanjrani, Speaker National Assembly Asad Qaiser, and parliamentarians attended the session.
President Dr Arif Alvi appreciated the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) led coalition government in all sectors, including economy, health, education and foreign policy, and especially lauded Prime Minister Imran Khan`s approach in handling the COVID-19 pandemic which, according to him, set an example for other countries.
Delivering his yearly and constitutionally mandatory address to the joint sitting of parliament in the absence of the opposition parties, the president felicitated the government on its second anniversary and said that despite the COVID-19 pandemic, the government had performed remarkably in all the sectors with all indicators showing an upward trend. The walkout by the opposition parties after a noisy protest for a brief period virtually turned the joint sitting into an internal gathering of the ruling coalition partners and provided the president an opportunity to speak with full confidence, and extempore at times, amid slogans and desk thumping by the treasury members, including Prime Minister Khan.
-Courtesy by APP
Dr Muattar Hanif
The author is Editor at Dental News Pakistan and can be reached at newsdesk@medicalnewsgroup.com.pk
