ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari, Thursday, addressed a joint sitting of Parliament amid the protest of opposition members and the absence of all military chiefs.
The Chief of Army Staff, Syed Asim Munir, Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (CJCSC) General Sahir Shamshad Mirza, and other services’ chiefs did not attend the traditional address to the joint-sitting of Parliament of the civilian Commander-in-Chief of the Pakistan Armed Forces.
The seats for military chiefs were reserved and their names were pasted on the headrests of the chairs in the gallery of the house.
Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Chief Minister Ali Amin Khan Gandapur, some diplomats and high-ranking officials were also absent.
Chairman of the Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party Mahmud Khan Achakzai who had contested election for the office of Presidency also did not attend the joint-sitting of the Parliament. The opposition members of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)-backed Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) continued their protest during the whole speech of the President.
The noise of the opposition members was so high that the voice of the president was difficult to hear. The opposition members carried placards and pictures of former Prime Minister Imran Khan. They raised slogans “Go, Zardari Go,” and “Release Imran Khan”. During the speech of the president, some opposition members continually whistled and blew trumpets.
When the president reached the dais for speech, the opposition members stood from their seats and gathered at the steps in front of the dais of the Speaker and started chanting slogans.
As soon as the president began speaking, slogans from PTI-backed Sunni Ittehad Council lawmakers reverberated in the House as they chanted “Go, Zardari Go” while also carrying posters.
However, the president — who had a framed photo of his late wife ex-prime minister Benazir Bhutto — was undeterred by the ruckus and powered on with his speech, which was at times drowned out by the sloganeering.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2024
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