Faced with a hostile parliament, Pakistan's embattled leader Pervez Musharraf has not convened the mandatory joint session of National Assembly and Senate that is traditionally addressed by the President.
Acting on the ruling coalition government's advice, President Musharraf has summoned the lower house of parliament to meet on Thursday for its first regular session following the election of the Speaker, Deputy Speaker and Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gillani last month.
The Constitution requires the President to address a joint session of the National Assembly and Senate before the first session of the lower house, after a general election or at the start of the parliamentary year.
The Pakistan People's Party-led coalition comprising Musharraf's opponents came to power after his ally Pakistan Muslim League-Qaid was routed in the February 18 election. But the former General, who is being sidelined by the new dispensation, has apparently decided to keep a distance from the Parliament by not convening a joint session, which he would have addressed.
Under the previous government, Musharraf had addressed parliament once during its five-year term.