Arrangements had been finalised on Sunday for Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s address to the joint session of parliament to be held today (Monday).
The Turkish prime minister would be the seventh world leader to address Pakistan’s legislature. He is the only world leader to have the distinction of addressing Pakistan’s parliament twice.
The offices of the Lower House remained open on Saturday and Sunday, the two weekly holidays, for the finalisation of the arrangements. Sources said a Turkish security delegation paid a visit to the Parliament House to inspect security arrangements and discussed security related issues with the officers concerned. They said the visiting delegation was given a round of the Parliament House and adjacent areas and was also briefed about the security measures adopted.
According to a tentative schedule, Erdogan will be received jointly by National Assembly Speaker Fehmida Mirza and Acting Senate Chairman Sabir Baloch upon his arrival at the Parliament House.
The Turkish prime minister will later pay a courtesy call to both the ‘Custodians of the Houses’ and delegations of both sides will also be present in the meeting.
The sources said invitation cards had been dispatched to all foreign diplomats in Islamabad, all provincial chief ministers, governors and services’ chiefs and the president and prime minister of Azad Jammu and Kashmir.
PML-N: The PML-N on Sunday decided that it would not only attend the joint sitting of parliament but would also show patience and tolerance during the address of Turkish prime minister. They said Erdogan is highly respected in Pakistan and on his arrival in parliament, the PML-N would accord him a very warm welcome.
Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Nisar Ali Khan would also participate in the joint session on the special directives of PML-N President Nawaz Sharif.
Earlier, Nisar was reluctant to attend the session because of the obduracy of Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani and his unconstitutional act in the contempt case.
When contacted, PML-N leader Pervaiz Rasheed said the PML-N had decided to attend the joint session as it held the Turkish prime minister in high esteem.
Meanwhile, Interior Minister Rehman Malik on Sunday chaired a high-level meeting to review the security arrangements for the joint session.
The meeting was attended by interior additional secretary, Islamabad chief commissioner and inspector general, Special Branch DIG, deputy commissioner and SSP security. The interior minister directed the Islamabad administration and the IG to ensure foolproof security for the joint session.
Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Erdogan was accorded a very warm welcome upon his arrival here.
The spouse of the Turkish prime minister along with half a dozen of his cabinet members and half a dozen members of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey are also accompanying him.
Opp leaders invited on dinner with Turkish PM
Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani has invited top political leaders of the country to a dinner he will be hosting in the honour of the visiting Turkish prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, at the Prime Minister’s House on Monday. A spokesman for the Prime Minister’s House on Sunday said those invited to the banquet included PML-N President Nawaz Sharif, PTI Chairman Imran Khan, Jamaat-e-Islami chief Munawar Hasan, and JUI-F chief Fazlur Rehman. He said invitations had been extended to give a message of national unity to the entire world. Political sources said the PML-N leadership enjoyed personal relations with Erdogan and it would be very difficult for Nawaz Sharif to reject the invitation. However Nawaz is likely to consult his party leaders before taking a final decision.
