National Assembly to complete fourth parliamentary year on November 15

The National Assembly will be completing its fourth parliamentary year on November 15 with no signs of the presidential address to the joint sitting of the two Houses of the parliament, a constitutional requirement, which he fulfilled only once.
Last month, President Pervez Musharraf had in an unambiguous way, conveyed to all and sundry his intention of not addressing the parliament's special sitting, blaming the opposition for not observing code of conduct and decorum on such occasions.
Sources in the Law Ministry told Business Recorder that no proposal was under consideration to draft a new law, ensuring no lawmaker in future would resort to sloganeering or any other kind of disturbance during the presidential address.
State Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Senator Kamil Ali Agha said that he was not aware of any possibility of the president addressing the two Houses or enactment of a new law to check disturbance in case such an event takes place.
However, he pointed out that the president could fulfil this constitutional requirement any time, provided the opposition followed parliamentary traditions, behaving accordingly.
"On one hand, they want to hear the president while on the other, they create pandemonium and make his address completely inaudible. This attitude towards an elected head of a state is extremely regrettable," the minister said while talking to this correspondent.
Under Article 56 (3), the president shall address joint sitting of the two Houses, assembled together to explain the causes of its summoning, marking the beginning of a new parliamentary year. During its almost four-year period, President Musharraf only once fulfilled this constitutional requirement, on the passage of the Legal Framework Order-based 17th Constitutional Amendment.
The 'boisterous' opposition had chanted slogans against the military take-over and his not shedding the military outfit. Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal, which helped the government get the amendment through the parliament, had adopted a low-key conduct in the House on that day.
Commenting on President Musharraf's informal proposal on a new law to reign in the rowdy legislators, a veteran Constitutional expert Izhar Amrohvi contended that rules already existed, but how could these be applied when almost half of the members protested over his policies.
According to rules, the National Assembly speaker and the Senate chairman could force exit of any lawmaker through the sergeant-at-arms, if found obstructing the proceedings or even his membership could be cancelled.